Invisible, and still in the offing :

Anti Govt. alliance under MR?

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The talk of the town now is the emergence of a new political party by the SLFP MPs in the Joint Opposition (JO) who are backing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Amid media speculation that the new party will be formed on October 8, JO front liners say there is no truth in it and that what has been planned for October 8 at Ratnapura is a meeting to protest against the removal of Eheliyagoda SLFP Organiser MP Pavithra Wanniarachchi and the present program initiated by the party hierarchy to deliberately weaken the SLFP.

Mahinda Rajapaksa	Basil Rajapaksa	Prasanna Ranatunga
Pavithra Wanniarachchi	Ranjith de Zoysa	Vasudeva Nanayakkara

Most of the vociferous MPs in the JO who evaded answering the question of forming a new party said, at present, all constituent parties in the JO have reached a consensus to form a broad anti-UNP alliance under the leadership of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, they said, the necessity to announce the name and symbol of the new political party will arise only when the Government fixes dates for the Local Government Elections which has been postponed for over a year.

Democratic Left Front Leader MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara told the Sunday Observer, in order to contest the next LG elections, we should form an alliance and have a symbol. It can’t be very far, now. It is time we decided on the party name and symbol. It doesn’t give anyone the right to strip our rights and entitlements in the UPFA and SLFP, and there is no need to form a separate political party at this juncture. We need an alliance only for the purpose of identifying ourselves with a symbol to contest the elections. It is a technical requirement, and we have reached consensus on it.

UPFA Ratnapura District MP Ranjith de Zoysa said, media speculation is rife that SLFP MPs in the JO are attempting to form a new party. “As SLFP MPs in the JO, we don’t endorse the SLFP-UNP alliance. The SLFP has continuously preserved its own policies and governed the country. The present SLFP leaders have pilloried the SLFP under the UNP jackboot. The present path adopted is not familiar to SLFPers and not favourable to the country. Therefore, whatever election is held in the future, the SLFP MPs in the JO will not join hands in the cohabitation of the SLFP and the UNP”.

At present, the SLFP has faced much inconvenience due to its cohabitation with the UNP. In future elections, the SLFP has to take a decision whether to quit the UNP or continue with it. The SLFP MPs in the JO would take a decision based on that. If the SLFP is not ready to give up this ‘marriage’, we categorically state that a broad anti-UNP alliance will be formed to contest the future elections.

MP Zoysa said, a lot of publicity has been given in the social media that a new political party will emerge under the lotus symbol, at a JO rally to be held at Ratnapura on October 8. “I categorically state that the JO has organised this meeting to protest against the removal of Eheliyagoda SLFP Organiser MP Pavithra Wanniarachchi, and appointing a political neophyte to replace her position to weaken the party. A new party will not be launched on October 8. Before this meeting, the JO will organise a similar meeting today, in Weligama, to protest against the removal of MP Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena from the SLFP organisership. Both rallies are intended to protest against the present program initiated by the party leadership to deliberately weaken the SLFP. At present, all constituent parties in the JO have reached a consensus to form a broad anti-UNP political alliance under the leadership of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.”

We need to announce the name and symbol of the political party only when the Government calls for elections. Instead of declaring the LG elections, the Government is deliberately postponing it till April next year. It is obvious that the Government is scared to go for elections. We challenge the Government to hold the LG elections without further delay. After the LG elections are announced, the JO will decide its future actions. We need a party or symbol to contest an election. Before that the ideological conflict in the SLFP should be sorted out. There should be one SLFP. Otherwise, when one faction goes with the UNP, the other faction has to go forward alone. Therefore, the present SLFP leader should take the decision whether they wish to retain the SLFP as one, or divide the party. They still have time to give up this ‘UNP-SLFP marriage’ and combine the two SLFP factions.

JO frontliner and UPFA Gampaha District MP Prasanna Ranatunga said, the majority of SLFPers at village level request to form a separate political alliance against the faction of the SLFP MPs who have joined hands with the UNP. The majority of former LG heads and members are in the Joint Opposition. That is why we have stressed the need to form a people’s movement with all political parties in the JO and other civil society organisations, to contest the upcoming LG elections.

“The SLFP MPs who love the country can join us. A faction of the SLFP in the Government attempts to contest under the hand symbol at the upcoming elections and thereby secure defeat and strengthen the UNP. SLFP MPs in the JO, cannot move in that direction. Therefore, an alternative force should be formed to safeguard the SLFP. However, we have not reached a final decision yet,” he said.

Meanwhile, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a public function held recently dodged questions on forming a new political party to challenge the Government, saying, a new party will be formed if people are continued to be harassed. He, however, evaded giving a clear answer.

Former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa addressing the media at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s political office in Battaramulla on Thursday (September 29) said, a new political party would become a reality soon and the people from the grassroots level countrywide would converge at Ratnapura on October 8 to fire the first salvo. He said, when the Government puts more burdens on the people with all kinds of taxes and exerts pressure on them, it would become urgent to form a new political party. Rajapaksa said, the SLFP loyalists, disappointed over the present path adopted by the party, and other constituent parties in the UPFA who are disgruntled with the Government would join the new party. It would not only be a political party, but an alliance and a national force.

JO frontliner and Ratnapura District UPFA MP Pavithra Wanniarachchi told the media that the inaugural rally of a new political front headed by the JO is scheduled to be held at Ratnapura on October 8. The aim of the new political front was to unseat the current regime. This Government misled the people with false promises. Today, they are dancing to the whims and fancies of some Western countries. The Government has become unpopular and people are looking for an alternative. She said, the new political front will fill this void. She also predicted that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will attend the event. MP Wanniarachchi said, a number of political parties will join the new front including a large group of SLFP politicians. The SLFP is currently in a weak state due to the party’s ‘marriage’ to the UNP. She warned if the SLFPers are thrown out from the party, they have no alternative but to form a new political party. Everyone has the responsibility to form a strong Opposition.