National Peoples’ Power (NPP) Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake says no election laws were violated by attending the recent National Convention of Nurses in Maharagama.
Speaking during a television interview, MP Dissanayake responded to concerns raised by several election monitoring bodies over the event, as the nurses were reported to have attended the convention in their official uniforms.
MP Dissanayake clarified that the event was organized by the Nurses Trade Union attached to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and he had attended it as a guest.
“The National Convention of any trade union takes place annually. Therefore, our trade union’s national convention took place on the said date and I attended as a guest. It took place last year too, but I didn’t attend, as I participated in the event of the Teacher’s Union,” he said.
Commenting on the nurses’ convention, MP Dissanayake further revealed that official leave was granted for the nurses to attend the event, which is a fundamental right of the trade union members.
Stating that he had not violated any laws or election laws by attending the event as a guest, the NPP Leader questioned why it was an issue for election monitoring bodies.
He further questioned why concerns were not raised about events being held at schools, where political statements are being made in front of students in uniform.
MP Dissanayake also pointed out President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s speeches with political messages being made at the ‘Jayagamu Sri Lanka’ events organized by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).
The NPP Leader’s remarks come as election monitoring bodies, Campaign for Free & Fair Election (CAFFE) and People’s Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL) had raised concerns with the Election Commission over the National Convention of Nurses in Maharagama. (Newswire)
