There's no secret deal with the President - Susil Premjayantha

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Pic source: YA TV

General Secretary of the Uited People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Colombo District Leader, Susil Premajayantha refutes allegations of a secret pact between him and President Maithripala Sirisena, to appoint him as Prime Minister in the event the UPFA returned to power.

He says the UPFA's 12-point Manifesto 'A guarantee for the future' will give new life to the country as the Government had failed to meet the people's expectations during its six months in office.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, the SLFP stalwart says President Sirisena was impressed with the constitutional reforms, national integration and reconciliation sections in the Manifesto and gave his nod of approval.

Excerpts

Q: There is a rumour of a secret deal between you and President Sirisena to make you the Prime Minister, if the UPFA wins and not Mahinda Rajapaksa. Also, the absence of Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva at the UPFA Manifesto launch has fuelled speculation that he too is vying to become PM. What is the truth regarding this?

A: There is no such secret deal and I categorically deny it. When we decided to give nomination to the former President, there was some speculation.

I honestly work for my party and the country. We work very hard and we want to win this election for the sake of the country and future generation. My primary target is to win this election and not to get portfolios.

Q: What are the key points of the UPFA Manifesto 'A guarantee for the future' and how is it different from the UNP and JVP Manifestos?

A: The UPFA Manifesto has focused on 12 main points, national integration and reconciliation, eradication of corruption and maintaining rule of law, economic management, non-aligned foreign Policy, housing and land, education, health , environment and wildlife, culture, arts and communication, sports and youth affairs, women and childcare and investment and infrastructure development.

In this 12- fold action plan, there are many short and long-term proposals. Short-term proposals will be implemented within one month of the commencement of the new Parliament. The rest will be implemented within the next five years. When we present Budget 2016, we will also introduce our five-year plan to be implemented during that timeframe. As mentioned in our manifesto, we are planning to maintain stable and justifiable prices for essential food commodities to ease the cost of living.

We would also recommence 58,000 stalled development projects, increase the salaries of state sector employees and provide a Rs. 50,000 allowance to youth above the age of 18. It is proposed to provide a Rs. 10,000 allowance to students selected to universities to purchase books and also to increase the Mahapola scholarship allowance to Rs. 6,000. The

The Manifesto states a Rs. 3,000 allowance for private sector employees and places the minimum basic salary of a public sector employee at Rs. 25,000.

Q: Why did you deviate from the practice of calling it 'Mahinda Chinthana' this time around, since the ex-President is virtually leading the UPFA campaign?

A: That was our strategy. We had two ' Mahinda Chinthana' Manifestos. This time, it is a General Election. The last two occasions, were Presidential Elections and the people voted for a particular person. This time, it is voting for a party and not an individual. Therefore, we wanted to present a different Manifesto.

Q: Despite his remarks against the former President, was there a positive response to the Manifesto from President Maithripala Sirisena who is the SLFP Leader?

A: Of course. The President was impressed with two sections in the Manifesto, that is constitutional reform, national integration and reconciliation. These are two key aspects highlighted by our party leader President Maithripala Sirisena during the last Presidential election as well.

Q: The UPFA's Manifesto has promised a new Constitution and electoral reform. Would you like to explain this?

A: Even President Maithripala Sirisena during his election campaign categorically stated that he would prune the powers of the Executive Presidency and give more power to the Prime Minister. We are going to have a Constitutional Council and Parliament will be as it was in 1972. Then we would go for constitutional reform, especially to implement the 20th Amendment.

Q: Do you think the UPFA campaign is at a better point now than at the start of the campaign, especially with regard to the lifting of the court order on the publication of the COPE report on the controversial Treasury Bond issue?

A: There was an interim order given on the COPE report. Deputy Justice Minister, Sujeewa Senasinghe made an absurd attempt by filing a case to obtain an interim order. But he himself decided to withdraw that.

We have already educated the people regarding the Central Bank Bond issue. As the Minister in charge of the Central Bank, the Prime Minister is responsible for this. He appointed three lawyers to look into this matter and they prepared a report and it was tabled in Parliament. The report has created some suspicion. Therefore, they recommended to appoint another committee with powers to further study the matter. The Speaker appointed a special committee which I was also a member.

The Central Bank Governor has categorically stated that on the instructions of Prime Minister, Ranil Wickeremesinghe, he decided to go for a public auction instead of private or direct placements. This is where the whole story starts.

Q: Several incidents occurred that may have dented the ex-President's image such as what happened in Akuressa. Will there be any impact on the campaign because of such matters?

A: Not at all. At the Akuressa incident, a person after liquor had reached out to the former President and held his hand. As a result, he had just pushed him. Let alone the former President, if any average person faces such an incident, this would be the reaction.

Q: What was the rationale to expel five members S.B. Navinna, Rajitha Senaratne, M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardena, Arjuna Ranatunga and Hirunika Premachandra from the SLFP Central Committee?

A: Being in the SLFP, they are contesting as candidates of another political party. Earlier we took the same decision regarding President Maithripala Sirisena as well. When President Sirisena was the SLFP General Secretary, he decided to contest as the Common Opposition Presidential Candidate.

So we immediately convened the SLFP Central Committee and suspended his membership. We restored his membership after he became the leader of the party. According to the SLFP constitution, either the party President or the Central Committee can suspend any members who breach party discipline and its constitution.

Q: If the UPFA gains a majority, will you still go for a national government with the UNP?

A: No. If we get 113 seats or more, definitely we are going to form a UPFA Government. After the election, if any members are willing to join the Government, we would consider and it is open for them.

Q: What are the main issues at stake at this election in your opinion? ( Such as development, cost of living, national security etc.)

A: During the past six months, the people are fed up with the present government. That is why we presented our Manifesto to give new life to the country. We find that nothing has happened after January 8. All development projects launched by the previous government have been suspended without any valid reason, depriving the employment of more than a 100000 people. Once we come to power, we would restart all those projects within 30 days.

Q: Nearly 110 civil society groups and trade unions on Tuesday (July 28) signed a 14 point MoU with the United National Front for Good Governance to introduce a democratic and people friendly Constitution. Will this move have any adverse effect on the UPFA's election campaign?

A: I don't think so. Who are these civil society members? Most of these civil society organisations are fake. They are being funded by some Western powers. They are here to cater to their interests. Some people claim to be eminent but the people don't think so.

They just utter something to satisfy their funding authorities. There were only about 150 people at a recent meeting organised by 49 civil society groups at Nugegoda. This is a clear testimony of the people's response to these so-called civil society organisations.

Civil society organisations cannot change governments or people's attitude. There is no impact at all regarding the signing of MoUs.Why do they want to sign MoUs with the UNP? Because they don't have trust. If there is trust you don't need to sign MoUs. When the people cast their vote for a government, political party or a candidate, there is an invisible bond between the voter and the candidate or that party.

Q: What led your party hierarchy to reject giving nominations to Duminda Silva, Mervyn Silva and a few other UPFA candidates ? There is also an allegation that the UPFA has given nominations to some candidates who are involved in various court cases. Is there any truth in this?

A: We have not given nominations even to a single person who has been charged crimes. The decision not to give nominations to four ex-SLFP members was taken by the Nomination Board. I wasn't involved in any move to reject the nomination of any person.

It was a decision taken by the party hierarchy at the Nomination Board level. There should be some reason to reject nominations. At this stage, I don't want to comment on it.