Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe says that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which opposed granting citizenship to plantation workers, should apologize to the community.
“This is the first meeting I’m addressing on behalf of the UNP. Even though we are contesting from the Gas Cylinder symbol elsewhere, Jeevan Thondaman insisted that we contest from the elephant symbol in Nuwara Eliya,” he said addressing a rally in Kotagala.
“At that time, when citizenship was granted to the plantation workers, JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera strongly opposed it,” he recalled, emphasizing the close ties between the United National Party (UNP) and the estate community. “The UNP has consistently contested parliamentary elections since 1947, and we have always provided facilities to improve the lives of these people,” he added.
The former President highlighted that under agreements between Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Indira Gandhi in 1986, Sri Lankan citizenship was granted to those without citizenship in India or Sri Lanka. “We gave citizenship to everyone who did not have it, whether they were in India or Sri Lanka,” Wickremesinghe explained.
He criticized the JVP for denying the right to vote to plantation workers at the time and questioned, “Why should they vote for the JVP, who opposed giving them voting rights?”
