Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that he left the Presidential Palace for Medamulana at 6.00am on January 09 with the intention of retiring and taking a small break at home but it was the people who told him “no you can’t retire, come back.” 

“But I would also like to tell Maithripala Sirisena that it was you who pulled me back when I was going to retire,” he said, addressing the Joint Opposition rally in Nugegoda today (27). 

He said that the country’s people and the leaders are duty bound to protest the historic war victory achieved and that by gathering in such numbers the people are sending a message to the government to put an immediate stop to this “fraudulent” constitution, which he claims will split the country.

He stated that the government promised to transfer the executive power to the parliament but that it not what it did. “They put that aside and are now attempting to bring this fraudulent constitution. That is what we are against.” 

The UPFA Kurunegala District MP said that if a problem exists in the country, it should be resolved through discourse and that they invited the government to discuss this. 

“But they did not accept our invitation because those abroad told them not to have anything to do with Mahinda Rajapaksa.”

“Why? Because we didn’t bow our heads. Because we didn’t kneel down before imperialists,” he said. 

Rajapaksa charged that the incumbent government came to power by deceiving the masses and that now it has made the country indebted. The government has done nothing with the massive loans it obtained, he said.

He accused the government of selling off state institutions, lands and ports in the country to foreigners and termed this a national “betrayal.”