UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene yesterday said that if the government had accepted the UNP’s 21-point plan to revive the economy and save the lives of people, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would not have had to ask the people to get ready to make more sacrifices.

Addressing a meeting of UNP activists, via Zoom, the UNP Deputy Leader said that his party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had submitted a 21-point plan, titled the UNP’s policy for health security and economic security, to President Rajapaksa. “Other parties keep on criticising the government. We not only criticise the wrong policies of the government but also propose alternatives. Now the number of COVID-19 deaths is nearly 200 a day. We kept on asking for closure of the country for at least three weeks. The government finally resorted to shutting down the country for 10 days. But this is not the closure expected by the health experts. We see people and vehicles on the road.

“A summary of the President Rajapaksa’s recent address to the nation tells people to get ready to make sacrifices in case the country would be moved for longer closures. In other words, the president says that there would be an increase in prices of goods and services and there would be difficulties in paying salaries. It seems that the government is planning to cut down the Rs 10,000 increment we had given to the public servants.

“In our 21-point plan we asked the government to go to the IMF so that we could obtain financial assistance from other countries. It is unfair to ask people to make sacrifices without doing so.

“We have repeatedly asked the government to go for immediate purchases of ventilators. We need at least 2,000 ventilators immediately.

“The government should think of obtaining the services of retired health workers and doctors and the services of the private health sector.

“There are no legal provisions for the COVID-19 task force to function. The cabinet of ministers have the power to face the crisis. We called on the government to place the responsibility of facing the crisis to the cabinet of ministers,” the UNP Deputy Leader said.