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Rajapaksa ‘imperialist’, Sirisena ‘mentally unfit’
View(s):What’s in a name? It’s not about a rose, but about Western imperialism in President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s name that was cited as the reason for the objection against his nomination for the January 8 presidential poll. If President Rajapaksa’s name reflected Western imperialism, the objection against the nomination of common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena said he was mentally unfit. These were the two objections when nominations were received on Monday at the Elections Department in Rajagiriya.
Although Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya overruled the objections, the two petitioners defended their positions. Nava Samasamja Party leader Wickramabahu Karunaratne who objected to President Rajapaksa’s nominations said, “President Rajapaksa had given his name as Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa, which is different from the one he uses. The name ‘Percy’ is a western imperialist name while Mahendra symbolises Indian power. This is what manipulators do and it shows his politics,” he said.
United Lanka Maha Sabha Party Secretary Nath Amarakoon who objected to Mr. Sirisena’s nominations said the day before the proclamation of the presidential election, the NDF candidate was the Health Minister and even carried the relic casket invoking blessings on President Rajapaksa on his birthday. But the day after the proclamation of the election, he announced that he would contest the poll as the common candidate. “It made me wonder whether he is mentally fit to contest the election,” Dr. Amarakoon said.