Rajapaksa says he wants to make a fresh start as PM
COLOMBO: Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday blamed ‘international and local conspirators’ for his defeat in the presidential election held in January and vowed to ensure communal harmony and peace in the country in a future government headed by him.
Rajapaksa during his first public appearance after his defeat in the presidential elections vowed to correct all his administration’s mistakes.
Addressing the launch of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) campaign for the August 17 parliamentary elections in the north central capital of Anuradhapura, Rajapaksa said, “We will ensure reconciliation, communal harmony and peace”.
69-year-old leader blamed the international and local conspirators for his January 8 defeat to Maithripala Sirisena in the presidential election.
“Ranil (Wickremesinghe) and foreign missions tried hard to prevent my entry into the race for parliament, the people defeated that conspiracy”, Rajapaksa said.
He charged that all mega infrastructure development projects undertaken by his government had been stopped by the current government led by Sirisena while the economy has stagnated.
The national security which he ensured by defeating the LTTE is also under threat.
Rajapaksa did not respond to the tirade against him by Sirisena in this week’s television address.
“I do not need to respond to them, people will respond”, he said.