SJB asks Prez not to reduce MR’s security for criticising govt.

The SJB yesterday urged the government to reconsider its decision to scale back the security provided to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Addressing a press conference at the SJB Headquarters, Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman criticized President Anura Dissanayake for his recent remarks suggesting that Rajapaksa’s security could be withdrawn if he became increasingly critical of the government.

“Such a statement is unbecoming of a President. The President claimed that security arrangements for former Presidents and MPs would be based on intelligence reports. However, his comments about Mahinda Rajapaksa suggest that no such intelligence report was taken into consideration,” Rahuman said.

He accused President Dissanayake and his Ministers of continuing to act as if they were in the Opposition rather than leading the government. “It seems that President Dissanayake has forgotten that he is now the President of the country. Similarly, the Ministers in the government seem to have forgotten that they are part of the government. There is no difference between the speeches the President made during his time in the Opposition and the ones he makes now. It is hard to discern whether the person speaking is the President or the former Opposition MP,” Rahuman said.

Rahuman emphasised that the President must now focus on governance and prioritise the safety of the general public. He highlighted the recent spate of gun violence across the country, noting that eight people had been killed in shooting incidents in January alone. “Ensuring the safety of the general public remains an unachieved goal of this government,” he said.