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Consider postwar progress against charge of mismanagement: Mahinda Rajapaksa
View(s):President Mahinda Rajapaksa this week dismissed Opposition allegations that the country has been mismanaged during his rule and called on voters to consider the progress achieved after the conflict ended.
President at a rally in Jaffna. Pic by Jayamal Chandrasiri
“If we did not manage the war properly, how did we win the wa?” President Rajapaksa queried during a breakfast meeting with a group of journalists at Temple Trees.
President Rajapaksa said that, with his leadership to end the war, he was able to improve infrastructure including roads, hospitals and electricity supply, and even increase the number of teachers in schools.
“We need to go beyond what we have achieved. We should create a better world for our future generation by enforcing law and order, and create a civilised society while carrying on with development work,” the President said.
Expressing confidence of winning the January 8 election, the President said, “I do not see a contest,” adding that the public response was better than what was experienced during the last presidential election in 2010.
The President responded to a series of questions ranging from issues as to why his Cabinet members quit, to the Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) decision to support Opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena.
The president denied that ministers were not allowed to speak on issues of good governance and that the Rajapaksa family interfered in all matters. “None of the ministers who quit his government spoke about good governance when they were in the Cabinet, nor did our family members interfere in their activities,” he said.
A UPFA rally in Hatton. Pic by Ranjith Rajapaksa
President Rajapaksa said the allegation he was building palaces around the country was not correct, as he was only upgrading the President’s Houses around the country built during former President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s era. “Do you expect me to stay in five-star hotels and allow these buildings to decay. You may remember the state of the Race Course in Colombo,” he said.
The President said he was not willing to offer Constitutional changes without full consultation. “I will appoint a Committee to look into this after the election,” he said.
He claimed that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) quit the government because the government did not agree to grant a separate region in the east for the Muslims.
Responding to allegations that the State media was being misused, the president said he did not have time to watch television during the election campaign, but blamed other channels for slinging mud at him.
On high expenditure for the construction of roads, the President said there was a major difference between normal roads and highways.