We’re close to toppling Ranil govt, says Mahinda Rajapaksa

Former President Rajapaksa says he’ll move a no-confidence motion next week

March 16, 2018 09:46 pm | Updated 09:46 pm IST - COLOMBO

(FILES) In this photograph taken on May 18, 2015, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa listens as his staff inform him that the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels had ended successfully, in Colombo.  Tens of thousands of people went missing in Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war, a UN report said September 16, 2015, suggesting "enforced disappearance" was part of a systematic policy.   AFP PHOTO / Lakruwan WANNIARACHCHI / FILES

(FILES) In this photograph taken on May 18, 2015, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa listens as his staff inform him that the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels had ended successfully, in Colombo. Tens of thousands of people went missing in Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war, a UN report said September 16, 2015, suggesting "enforced disappearance" was part of a systematic policy. AFP PHOTO / Lakruwan WANNIARACHCHI / FILES

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he would move a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe next week, and claimed he had the support of some legislators in the PM’s United National Party (UNP).

Declaring that he was close to bringing the government down, Mr. Rajapaksa said: “The UNP’s own members are doing that, I don’t have to do [much].” He was speaking to Colombo-based foreign correspondents at his residence on Thursday.

In late 2016, about two years after his election defeat, the former President had vowed to topple the successor government. The country’s first national unity government helmed by President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe remained stable through 2017 despite tensions. However, the outcome of the local government elections held in February 2018 pushed the government to a virtual split.

A new party backed by Mr. Rajapaksa outdid both the UNP and Mr. Sirisena’s faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) — the other faction supports Mr. Rajapaksa in Parliament as an opposition block — and secured a majority of local authorities in the island. The partners in the ruling alliance blamed each other for the poor show. While the post-poll split was averted with a compromise between the partners over a cabinet reshuffle, the coalition is fragile.

‘We are with Sirisena’

Asked if he is open to working with President Sirisena, Mr. Rajapaksa said: “If he wants to nominate an SLFP member for PM we will support the candidate... We are with him [Sirisena] at the moment.”

On whether the government had gone soft on cases involving the former first family, Mr. Rajapaksa said: “Why, they have taken action”, pointing to pending corruption cases against his brother and former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and his sons Namal and Yoshitha. Former foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, who was seated by Mr. Rajapaksa’s side, said: “No court has found anyone guilty — all these people spent weeks and months in jail.”

Speaking on the recent anti-Muslim violence in Kandy, Mr. Rajapaksa said while some in the government and sections of international media “were trying to implicate us…, we have nothing to do with it.”

Violence against Muslims has been on the rise in Sri Lanka since 2012. Critics have accused the Rajapaksa administration of protecting the suspects, including a Buddhist monk seen instigating violence. The former President has in the past denied the charges.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.