Sunday Times 2
Sasitharan leads UNP’s campaign in Batticaloa
View(s):Arasaratnam Sasitharan, a former provincial council and United National Party District organiser for Batticaloa has launched the party’s campaign in the district in view of the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
Arasaratnam Sasitharan
Mr. Sasithran, a UNP Working Committee member, has been in active politics since 1978. He has begun his village-to-village campaign, addressing farmers and fishermen and explaining to them that the district could be developed only under a UNP administration.
He said he had spoken to Disaster Management Minister John Amaratunga and other government ministers, calling on them to expedite the release of Rs. 70 million to provide relief to the people affected by the recent flood in the district. He said Hindu Cultural Affairs Minister D.M. Swaminathan has pledged to release Rs. 3.7 million to renovate Hindu temples in the area.
Mr. Sasitharan said he also held talks with the State Minister of Power and Energy, Palitha Range Bandara, on improving power supplies to the district. He said his discussions with Food Security Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera had borne fruit as the minister had promised to address the grievances of the paddy farmers and cultivators of other crops.
The UNP organiser said that his talks with farmers had revealed that irrigation tanks in the district had not been properly maintained in the past. He gave an assurance to the farmers that their problems would be solved under a UNP government.
He said the people in the district were thankful to the new government for reducing the prices of fuel and other essential items.
He said that at last month’s Presidential election the opposition candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, received 81 per cent of the vote in his district.
Mr. Sasitharan contested the 2000 Parliamentary elections as a UNP candidate and has since been actively involved in politics despite threats from the LTTE.