By Rathindra Kuruwita

The ongoing countrywide drug bust known as the Operation Yukthiya has created serious social problems with many children being left without their parents due to indiscriminate arrests, Patali Champika Ranawaka, leader of the United Republican Front (URF) says.

“Police have arrested a large number of former and current drug addicts. Sometimes, both mother and father have been taken away. The operation has created a situation where boys join underworld gangs and girls take to prostitution.

All across Colombo, there are many instances where children are starving because their parents are being held on remand. Most of them cannot afford to pay legal fees,” Ranawaka said on Wednesday (03)

Although the crackdown on the drug mafia had entered its third week, none of the key figures in the underworld had been arrested, Ranawaka said, criticising the police for demolishing selected buildings near the beach on the grounds that they had been built with proceeds from narcotic sale.

“The Coast Conservation Department (CCD) is empowered to remove structures that have been built too close to the ocean, he said. “In some areas, you can’t build permanent structures within 100 metres of the beach. In some areas it is 30 metres. The CCD has the legal authority to get rid of these structures. If necessary, they can take legal action for the removal of these constructions.

However, now the police have alleged that these buildings were constructed with drug money. This is illegal,” Ranawaka said, adding that there could be an ulterior motive for removing certain business places while allowing others to continue with their operations. During the latter part of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term, the security forces had been deployed to demolish buildings selectively and that had led to his electoral defeat, Ranawaka said.

Under a URF administration, new laws would be brought in to make it a punishable offence to come to power by making false promises. For example, some people in Viyathmaga told the people that the GDP growth under the Yahapalana administration was 3% and under the Gotabaya administration it would rise to 7%. Ultimately, under that government the economy contracted by 7%. “Bankrupting a state is a serious crime. We know who is responsible. The entire Cabinet of ministers under Gotabaya are responsible for the calamity we are facing now,” Champika alleged.

Ranawaka said the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration’s disastrous handling of the pandemic and the economy would be thoroughly investigated under a URF government.

“We don’t accept the official COVID death figures. More than 15,000 people died. We will investigate this and the economic mismanagement and punish those responsible,” Ranawaka said.