Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando says that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government too has the same ‘saloon-door’ policy of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa so anyone could leave or join the government as they wish.
Speaking at a ceremony to declare the opening of a new building complex for Narammala Pradeshiya Sabha by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Minister said that all those within the government should understand that they have a role in protecting it. “One cannot be in the government while playing the role of the opposition. The President had to remove two ministers because they overlooked their responsibility as government ministers and played the role of the opposition. They must understand that the government still adhered to the saloon-door policy introduced by the incumbent Prime Minister while he was the president.
Anyone can leave and in the same way anyone can join us.
“We have won this district because Mahinda Rajapaksa was in our party. People voted for this government because of him. People respect the political leaders in the government because they respect the party which has Mahinda Rajapaksa. I can remember how he brought Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the Sugathadasa Stadium and introduced the latter to people as his youngest brother and called on them to vote for him. People voted for him and his government because they trusted Mahinda Rajapaksa’s words. They had realized the mistake they had committed in 2015. That was why Gotabaya Rajapaksa could defeat Sajith Premadasa who had the backing of forces in the North, the East and the blessings of the international forces.
“If Mahinda Rajapaksa continued as the President of the country without 2015 regime change, this country would have faced any crisis including the global pandemic. The government that came to power after 2015 destroyed the economy Mahinda Rajapaksa built. They destroyed the national security and that was the main cause of the Easter Sunday terror attacks that prevented tourists coming to this country. That was when the dwindling of the dollar reserves started. Finally by the time we took over, the country was fighting with Afghanistan not to become the lowest economy in the region. What we experience today are the results of that reality.
“After that the country had to face the global pandemic. In this context of the crisis, imagine that we had another prime minister instead of Mahinda Rajapaksa and some within the government opposing it. If there was another person holding that post, he would have mustered the support of the dissent to grab the power to become the president. In the same way we won the war, the present day crises could be won because we have the combination of brothers of the Rajapaksa family in the right places.
“We have imported necessary stocks of fuel and distribution has been streamlined and top priority has been given to distribute them to replenish the stocks in the fuel stations. The fuel shortage problem would be solved within 24 hours. We call on people not to panic or fall for the opposition’s tactics because there would be enough fuel so they do not need to go for panic buying and spend their money to store fuel unnecessarily,” the Minister said.
And some are talking about “Mahinda Sulaga”.we all did politics Under Mahinda Rajapakse’s Shadow.Mahinda is the character,the main Role. (Ministry of Highways)
