TISSA: BACK IN POLITICS WITH PRESIDENTIAL POLL

Former General Secretary of the United National Party Tissa Attanayake said he would actively take part in the Presidential Election campaign starting next year.

The next Presidential Election is scheduled to be held in 2020.

During a meeting with the Mahanayake of the Malwatte Chapter Ven. Tibbotuwawa Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera, he said he kept a low profile for a short time, but he would enter the political arena with the Presidential Election.

“The Treasury Bond Scandal has become a household word today. Similar incidents had been reported from India and other countries where the stance of the people is the difference from that of the Sri Lankans,” he said.

“The Presidential Election will be held in another oneand-half-year. “Today the question among the people is who was responsible for the Government. The country needs a stable Government and an effective plan.

“The country needs a visionary leader at this juncture and the people would take the right decision at the next Presidential Election,” Attanayake said.

“It is usual that there are individuals who help the politicians to fund the election campaign. But accepting such funding from individuals is not justifiable. If it had happened in India, the stance of the people would have been entirely different,” he further said.

The Mahanayake Thera said much had been talked and written about 118 Parliamentarians who had allegedly accepted money from Aloysius and that it had been a focal point for the media. Ven. Thera said that the prevailing political situation had created a topic for the media to write about.

He stressed that leaders should focus their attention on the burning issues that affected people without leaving room for criticism.