JVP talks will be fruitful to win budget vote - Jayaratne

by Anura Maitipe

Discussions are under way with the People's Liberation Front JVP to win their support for the budget at the vote to be held tomorrow and these discussions will be fruitful, Peoples Alliance General Secretary D. M. Jayaratne told the Sunday Observer.

The JVP has called upon the government to abide by the four conditions put forward by its leader Somawansa Amarasinghe including the abolition of the Ceasefire Agreement, dissolution of the All Party Representative Committee, preventing UN interference in human rights violations and ensuring national security.

The JVP and the Government are committed to defeat LTTE terrorism by upholding the unitary status of the country and the Government will not allow foreign mediators to intervene in the internal affairs of the country.

Since we have no differences on these issues we will be able to come into a common consensus on these issues, he said.

Meanwhile, JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayaka told a seminar recently that they do not want to bring down the government and pave the way for the UNP to capture power. But if the government is heading towards collapse they will take an appropriate political decision at the time.

The JVP will never take opportunist decisions which would endanger the lives of people in this country as such drastic decisions made by certain political parties proved that they had not brought any good to the people and the country, he said.

Some tend to say that the JVP is on the fence over the vote during the budget. It was not the JVP but the government and the UNP which are on the fence. We are playing a mediatory role and awaiting to see the crossover dramas which will take place in the house during the vote on the budget tomorrow, he said.

He said the JVP will allow all these crossover dramas to be staged in Parliament and would take a timely decision for the benefit of the patriotic people of this country.