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Join hands for the sake of the country, President appeals
View(s):President Mahinda Rajapaksa who wound up the Committee Stage debate on the Appropriation Bill for 2014 on Friday made an impassioned appeal to both Tamil political leaders as well as those in the Opposition ranks to join with the Government for the sake of the future prosperity of the country.
“This country does not belong to the Government or the Opposition. It belongs to all of us. We must come together to build a country we can all be proud of,” the President said. He made a special appeal to Tamil political leaders to help in the reconciliation process.
“I make a special wish invitation to the TNA Group leader R.Sampanthan and Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran to join hands to find our own home grown solution to reach national reconciliation, peace and development,” he said.
The President said he welcomed constructive criticism and ideas from the Opposition to correct the Government if it is on the wrong path. He said that the Government has been able to maintain a low budget deficit while accelerating economic growth due to the Government’s proper management of public finances.
The 2014 budget is aimed at reducing the deficit to 5.2 percent of GDP from this year’s 5.8 percent without curtailing any capital expenditure on infrastructure.