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Mahinda makes a comeback; first of many rallies in Kalutara
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SLPP leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is seen having a conversation with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the SLPP's first of many rallies yesterday in Kaltuara. Pic by Eshan Fernando
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa appeared in public for the first time since his resignation in May as Prime Minister when he attended a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) propaganda rally yesterday in Kalutara.
Mr. Rajapaksa addressed the rally which was billed as the first of many that the SLPP intends to hold island-wide in a campaign to rebuild the battered image of the party.
Most of the senior SLPP members attended the rally held under the theme ‘Let’s rise together, start from Kalutara’. Prime Minister and Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) leader Dinesh Gunawardena also attended.
The rally was organised by the SLPP’s Kalutara District Leader and Parliamentarian Rohitha Abeygunawardena. It was held on the premises of his district coordinating office which was set alight by a mob on May 9.
Addressing the rally, Mr Rajapaksa said there was no need for him to explain the country’s situation to those present since they knew the situation perfectly well. He said it was up to those in the SLPP to protect the government and support the programme of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. “We scolded Ranil back then.
But Ranil is with us now, so we sing his praises. I believe he has chosen the correct path now,” the former president quipped.
SLPP parliamentarians Johnston Fernando, Namal Rajapaksa, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Piyal Nishantha, Pavithra Wanniarachchi and Sagara Kariyawasam were among those who addressed yesterday’s rally.
Many speakers sounded a defiant note, claiming that the SLPP remained a formidable electoral force despite the actions of “conspirators”. They also insisted that the party’s National Organiser and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, now in the United States, was still giving leadership to the party’s organising efforts.
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