“What a Coincidence” – Namal Slams JVP Over Easter

Namal Rajapaksa alleges the JVP helped Gotabhaya Rajapaksa become president while accusing the government of fraud and failure.

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Namal Rajapaksa has accused the JVP of working through its national list to help make Gotabhaya Rajapaksa president, while also alleging fraud, failed governance, and unexplained transfers of public money under the current government.

SLPP National Organizer and Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa made the remarks while addressing a public meeting at Rajawewa in Seruwawila, where he sharply criticized the government over what he described as shortsighted rule, injustice, fraud, theft, and severe hardship imposed on the people.

He said the people of Seruwawila Rajawewa had gathered as a strong political force against the suffering caused by the current administration.

According to Rajapaksa, the public is joining hands with the opposition at every meeting because they still have trust in the SLPP and have lost confidence in the government.

He alleged that the government came to power through lies and continues to govern through deception.

Rajapaksa said he had seen a government minister questioning whether he had no concern over the Easter Sunday attacks. Responding to that, he claimed the Easter bomber came through the JVP national list and not from the Pohottuwa.

He further said that if inquiries were made into the lawyers who appeared for those involved, the lawyers of the terrorists would be exposed.

Rajapaksa also alleged that if investigations were carried out into who suppressed the relevant files, it would be revealed that such individuals had been given high positions under the present government.

“What a coincidence,” he said, adding that according to them, they wanted to make Gotabhaya president. Therefore, he claimed, they had worked through the JVP national list to make Gotabhaya Rajapaksa president, and the JVP must now answer for it.

Rajapaksa said the government is preparing to suppress the people once they realize that its lies, fraud, inability, and false promises have been exposed.

He claimed that the farmers’ economy has been completely destroyed, with farmers unable to sell rice even at Rs. 90 or Rs. 100.

Small mill owners, he said, have been pushed close to closure after taking bank loans to purchase paddy, only to find themselves unable to sell at sustainable prices.

He accused the government of deliberately destroying small and medium-scale entrepreneurs, especially small mill owners.

Rajapaksa said the government came to power promising to provide fertilizer on time, but there is currently no fertilizer for the Yala season and no plan to provide fertilizer for the Maha season.

Referring to Cyclone Ditha, he said dams and anicuts were destroyed, causing severe damage in the Matale area and other regions, including Trincomalee district.

He alleged that bridges and culverts were being built using sandbags, opened ceremonially, and then claimed as completed projects, even though the next rain would wash them away again.

Rajapaksa also questioned the government’s “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” fund.

He said the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance had stated that no such fund had even been created, raising questions over what happened to the money.

He further alleged that these days, money from every government account is going into wrong accounts. When questioned, he said, the explanation is either hacking or an oversight at the Ministry of Finance.

He claimed that while ordinary villagers are questioned repeatedly when they deposit money into an account, large-scale businessmen linked to the government and certain officials are able to move crores of rupees into wrong accounts without scrutiny.

Rajapaksa said the fertilizer issue has now become a major crisis for farmers.

He claimed paddy farmers, vegetable farmers, and fruit farmers are unable to obtain fair prices, causing their livelihoods to collapse.

He also accused the government of failing graduates after promising to visit homes and provide jobs. Today, he said, it cannot even provide private sector employment for graduates.

Rajapaksa said the government promised to bring investors, but factories are closing day by day and investors are leaving Sri Lanka.

He claimed unemployment is increasing daily and that the government cannot protect even existing jobs, let alone create new ones.

Sugarcane farmers, paddy farmers, and fishermen, he said, have all been left helpless due to the government’s inability and lack of planning.

Rajapaksa alleged that the government believes it is cheaper to import food and feed the people, while such imports would benefit favoured businessmen.

He said innocent farming communities in villages are suffering as a result.

According to Rajapaksa, the government has now reached a point where it is striking at the stomachs of ordinary people through unbearable taxes.

He said village shops and city businesses are closing because they cannot pay those taxes, trade has declined, and people are being economically squeezed.

When the opposition speaks against these problems, he alleged, the government attempts to suppress it.

“We are not afraid of that suppression,” Rajapaksa said, describing it as part of the government’s political ideology.

He reminded the crowd that the area had suffered due to the LTTE.

Rajapaksa claimed that, historically, the LTTE and JVP had destroyed twice the value of Sri Lanka’s current domestic and foreign debt burden, and that those responsible now accuse the opposition.

He alleged that they neither work nor try to rebuild what they destroyed, but instead attempt to govern through threats and suppression.

Rajapaksa also raised concerns about the Civil Security Department.

He said Civil Security Force officers were originally deployed to protect villages while living in those same communities.

He noted that disciplined civil security personnel had once faced terrorism and strengthened village security.

However, he alleged that today their dignity has been destroyed and they have been transferred to various places according to the wishes of government officials, without proper understanding of their service.

He said they are now in a situation where they cannot even live in Colombo on their salaries.

Rajapaksa accused the government of removing civil security personnel from temples, churches, and kovils after previously criticizing their deployment at religious places during the election period.

He said those officers and youth have now been transferred to Colombo, where their salaries are insufficient even for basic living, let alone sending money back to their villages.

He claimed that no government politician or minister is speaking about these issues.

Rajapaksa said the government has no desire to visit villages and understand the real problems faced by ordinary people.

He argued that the people of the country have now become an oppressed class, while the government that claimed to represent the oppressed has become a government of the capitalist class.

According to Rajapaksa, government officials now associate with large-scale businessmen, deal with them, and make decisions that benefit them.

He said the government is not ready to make decisions that help farmers, youth, or small entrepreneurs in villages.

Concluding his speech, Rajapaksa said the SLPP is going village to village and meeting ordinary people.

He invited everyone, including those who had been upset in the past and people from every political party, to join them.

He said the goal is to build a government that can answer with love, answer to the country, answer to the land, trees, animals, and children.

Rajapaksa ended his address by wishing the people a good future and invoking the blessings of the Triple Gem.