…Arjuna joins SJB Thalawakele rally

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) would renegotiate the agreement with the IMF to make it more people friendly, SJB and Opposition Leader, Sajith Premadasa said yesterday (01) addressing their main May Day event at Chatham Street, Colombo Fort.

Premadasa said: “We will also establish presidential task forces to look into the wellbeing of children, women, and infants. A special programme will be implemented to uplift female-led households. We will take care of the 1.7 million differently abled people. We will establish independent anti-corruption entities that are created by entrenched clauses of the Constitution.”

Premadasa said people asked him why he had not accepted the post of Prime Minister offered to him by Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.

“Some people tell me I should have taken a shortcut to power. I could have become the PM before the constitutional coup in 2018,” he said.

The Opposition leader said that an SJB government would boost spending on education and healthcare. The SJB government would also establish centres of IT akin to the Silicon Valley in the US, in all 25 districts in the country.

“We will establish a million start-ups. All government institutions will be made profitable. We will also establish private-public partnerships. Right now, those who run the government are engaged in a money grab.”

Premadasa said that they have come up with a proposal to get to the bottom of the Easter Sunday attacks. This has been presented to the Catholic Church, he said adding that

“We will bring to justice everyone behind the attacks”.

The SJB leader said that tea small holders own 40 percent of total tea cultivated areas. But they produce 70 percent of the tea output.

“The large-scale plantations only produce 30 percent. We will promote tea small holders by providing underutilized lands owned by these big plantation companies.”

Premadasa said that there is a need to create a national wealth fund.

SJB MP Harsha de Silva said 34 percent of the urban youth are unemployed and that only about 34 percent of the women are in the workforce. An SJB government would address the concerns of these people, he said.

“In the first five years of Sajith Premadasa’s tenure, he will create 1.5 million jobs and opportunities to be entrepreneurs. We have missed the opportunity to be in the global supply chain. The components of the iPhone are made in over 40 countries, but Sri Lanka is not among those countries. Sri Lanka is one of the most closed economies in the world,” he said.

Dr. de Silva said within a few months of becoming President, Sajith Premadasa will invite global brands to the country. The SJB will also take steps to revive the 250,000 micro, small and medium enterprises that have closed down.

Former MP, Mujibur Rahuman said that they chose the location because of significant events that transpired in the area during the 2022 Aragalaya.

“Two people from our party joined Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2022. One of them recently said a bunch of SJB MPs will crossover today. That has not happened,” he said.

Meanwhile, former MP Hirunika Premachandra alleged that the venue they wanted to hold the May Day rally has been given to the National People’s Power (NPP). This is an indication that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has a soft spot for NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, she said.

“We also see that the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) have joined hands. Ranil always had close ties with the Rajapaksas and he destroyed the UNP to ensure that the Rajapaksas could stay in power without a challenge.

Earlier in the day, they held another rally at Nuwara Eliya, which was organised by the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA). Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Arjuna Ranatunga, former Sri Lanka Cricket Captain and former Minister, were present at the rally.