Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa issuing a statement on Tuesday (21) charged that the JVP speakers have been trying to mislead voters by saying that there was no point in voting for the UPFA because Mahinda Rajapaksa could lose his civic rights.

In the statement, which was issued to media by Rohan Welivita, the former President’s Media Coordinating Secretary said, “Speaking at an election meeting yesterday, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that president Maithripala Sirisena had told him that if a Presidential Commission of Inquiry finds president Rajapaksa guilty of having given money to the LTTE, he could be deprived of his civic rights. 

JVP speakers have been trying to mislead voters by saying that there was no point in voting for the UPFA because Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa could lose his civic rights. The public should be vigilant about such falsehoods being propagated by bankrupt politicians.

Firstly, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa did not give money to the LTTE. On the contrary, it was he who defeated the LTTE. It was president Ranasinghe Premadasa who gave money and weapons to the terrorists. Secondly, no Presidential Commission has recommended that Mr Rajapaksa be deprived of his civic rights. Thirdly a Presidential Commission of Inquiry cannot deprive anybody of his civic rights unless parliament passes a resolution to that effect with a two thirds majority. If at all anybody stands a chance of getting a two thirds majority in parliament next time, it is the UPFA and not the UNP-JVP alliance. 

The JVP leader also said that Mrs Shiranthi Rajapaksa had spent Rs. 35 million from the Siriliya Saviya charity run by her to buy a house. In an earlier press release, we have pointed out that Mrs Shiranthi Rakapaksa had bought a property in Colombo 5 on a loan. This loan appears in former President Rajapaksa’s assets and liabilities declaration as a liability. 

Siriliya Saviya money was not used to buy this property. Like other families, the Rajapaksa family also has assets as well as liabilities.

Another allegation made by the JVP leader was that the CSN TV channel had been using government owned transmission towers. CSN has seven transmission towers of its own and does not need to use the facilities of other TV stations. No TV station can use the transmission towers of other stations without disrupting the services of the host station. These are obvious lies being concocted by bankrupt politicians who are trying to win the parliamentary election on a raft of falsehoods. It should be borne in mind that the JVP which is spreading these falsehoods is responsible for causing the deaths of around 70,000 youths and causing damage to property amounting to around Rs. 20 billion.”