Ranil mocks govt. on its Dhammika Peniya folly

UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday that the government was now seeing the consequences of giving “Dhammika Peniya” to the people all over the country while other countries in the world were conducting research to control the coronavirus pandemic.

Wickremesinghe said that if the number of ICU beds had at least been increased as he had said a year back, it would have been strength to face the current situation.

Wickremesinghe made these remarks at a discussion held with senior members of the UNP through Zoom technology.

The discussion was held to discuss the UNP reorganization programme.

The UNP Leader also said that the PCR tests currently conducted only at the district level should be expanded at least to the electorate level. He pointed out that although one PCR centre was sufficient for small seats, at least two or three PCR centres should be set up per district.

Wickremesinghe said it was imperative to act on the advice of the World Health Organisation in the face of the epidemic, adding that the Rajapaksa government, which had tasted Dhammika peniya for more than a year, is now stuck in a rut.

In response to a question raised by UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena, the former Premier said the World Health Organization (WHO) had not approved giving another vaccine as the second dose of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine.