Sabaragamuwa University Senior Lecturer Mahinda Pathirana denied baseless allegations levelled against Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa by the former Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila.
Speaking at a press briefing at the SLPP headquarters yesterday he said that Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa did not stand for American aspirations from the day the Rajapaksa government came to power, instead he stood up for Sri Lankan aspirations.
“When Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa provided the political leadership during the war, it was Basil Rajapaksa who provided the economic strength needed for the war. Starting from the programme to provide food and beverages to the Army, sending supplies to the North and to alleviate the unrest caused by the war in the South and to stabilize this country socially, all these were done by the current Finance Minister. Having made such a commitment, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is still making that commitment for the benefit of Sri Lanka. It is evident that he never stood up for the aspirations of any other country but he stood up only for the aspirations of our country”, he added.
He further stated that it is under the leadership of Basil Rajapaksa that the export earnings have increased to US $ 12.5 billion in 2021.“As he increased the income of this country, he reorganized our loss making institutions and made the government profitable for the citizens of this country during the plague”, he added.
Moreover he said that former Minister Udaya Gammanpila deliberately misled the country in 2021. “ Udaya Gammanpila says that today the oil crisis was caused by a dollar issue.We know that there is a dollar problem in Sri Lanka and that is the immediate cause. An agreement was to be signed on October 20, 2021 to import fuel to Sri Lanka under a US$ 3.6 billion loan facility. Gammanpila then stated that a huge amount of money is being received to import fuel from Oman. However, the Cabinet approved the agreement but failed to sign the agreement. Gammanpila did this deliberately in order to create a crisis in the country. As we run out of dollars over time, so do fuel prices. Thereby we have to send more dollars abroad. Also, the Minister comes to the media and states that the oil is available only for a short time. It raises issues among the people and finally paves the way for this crisis. What we have to say is that this is a programme to let the crisis escalate and gain political advantage from it. This is his purpose. This proves to us that they betrayed the aspirations of the country for that political purpose”, he highlighted.
Therefore Pathirana said that those who led the country to such an end is now accusing Basil Rajapaksa of being an American slave and an economic assassin. “This is not a question of favouritism or opposition to any country. What has emerged is their political estrangement and hatred”, he highlighted.
MP Sanjeewa Edirimanna said that the political viewpoint that the current leadership is to blame for the country’s crisis is erroneous.
He added that the major economic crisis facing the country is the gap between government revenue and government expenditure and also the problem of our country’s foreign reserves.
He also added that certain parties opposed the formation of a new political party based on the social force that gathered around Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015. “However, those groups tried to tie the Rajapaksa power base to good governance at a crucial time. It was Basil Rajapaksa who vehemently opposed this attempt. The reason for the hatred with Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is the dissent that has arisen over the opposition of the Rajapaksa political force to join the government of good governance which has come out in a different way today”, he added.
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