President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that it is up to the people to decide if Sajith Premadasa and Anura Dissanayake, who fled from responsibility and failed to show empathy during the nation’s suffering, are capable of leading the country forward.
Reflecting on his initial actions upon taking office in July 2022, President Wickremesinghe noted that his first priority was to provide essential fertilizers to farmers. As a result, he successfully boosted the country’s paddy production over four seasons, ensuring that fields were productive and kitchens were stocked.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe made these remarks while attending the “Puluwan Sri Lanka” victory rally at Ahamed Fareed Stadium in Eravur Batticaloa this afternoon (23).
The rally saw a substantial turnout of people from the area, including Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims, who gathered to support President Wickremesinghe’s candidacy and confirm his victory in the upcoming Presidential Election.
The President received a warm welcome from the attendees of the public meeting. The President addressed the issue of burial for the Muslim community,announcing that next week he will present a draft to the cabinet. This new law will allow individuals to choose cremation or donating their body to the medical faculty. Additionally, a committee will be established to compensate those affected by the previous policy.
Addressijng the gathering President Ranil Wickremesinghe further commented;It was noted that two years ago, there was a severe shortage of food and fertilizer for farming. This is true—farmers had no fertilizer, and there was a lack of food and medicine. The people were living in hardship. When I took over the government in July 2022, my first priority was to ensure farmers received the necessary fertilizers.
As a result, Both Yala and Maha seasons of 2022 and 2023 were successful, and the Maha season of 2024 has also been fruitful. When you visit these areas today, it’s clear that the 2024-2025 Maha seasons will be just as successful. We’ve worked hard to ensure that both the fields and the kitchens are full.
Today, fuel, medicine and essential goods are readily available, and the economy has strengthened. With the return of tourists, businesses are picking up. While it’s recognized that the cost of goods should decrease further, this can be achieved through the continued strengthening of the rupee.
When I took over this country, the exchange rate had skyrocketed to Rs.370 per dollar. Today, it’s down to Rs.300. When I assumed responsibility, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had fallen to USD 76 billion. By the end of 2023, we managed to raise it to USD 84 billion.
Our goal is to provide more relief to the people and increase the GDP to USD 89 billion, while bringing inflation down to 9%. This will strengthen the rupee. If we can further boost the GDP to USD 92 billion, the rupee will grow even stronger. That’s the path we are on today. Sajith and Anura are not capable of implementing this program.
When asked to take charge of the country, Sajith and Anura ran away. Can such individuals lead a country? When the people faced hardships, they turned their backs. I had just one seat in Parliament, yet I took on the responsibility because I saw the people’s suffering. Three-wheeler drivers couldn’t even afford fuel to work. Did these leaders show any empathy? Instead, they now call me a traitor for stepping up when the country needed leadership. They accuse me of protecting thieves, but they never considered the people’s suffering.
They claimed there was no money to ensure prosperity, but I provided the people with three times the amount of the Samurdhi grant through careful management. We increased the number of beneficiaries from 1.6 million to 2.4 million, arranged meals for school children, and raised the allowance for the elderly. Why didn’t Sajith and Anura join me in carrying out these initiatives? If they felt wronged by the people of this country, they withheld their help. They didn’t consider the people’s problems—they only thought about themselves. So, should the people vote for them?
The forced cremation policy during the pandemic caused great distress to the Muslim community. We are now introducing a new law that will allow individuals to choose their preferred method: burial, cremation, or donating their body to medical research.
Minister Ali Sabry will present this to the cabinet next week, and we will have it gazetted. Why didn’t Sajith or Anura propose such a bill? It’s not a financial matter but one that any MP could have brought forward.
Additionally, we will form a committee to compensate those affected by this issue. Although this incident occurred under the previous government, the current administration has issued an apology to the Muslim community.
We must go further. We have only just begun this work, and there’s still much more to do. To achieve this, we need support. I’ve negotiated with the International Monetary Fund and secured assistance from 17 countries. We’ve entered into an agreement with the IMF, and if we break that agreement, we will lose the funding. Yet, Sajith claims he will alter the agreement, and Anura says the same. If they do, the economy of this country will collapse again.
Imagine rescuing someone from a river only for them to jump back in—would that make sense? We’ve pulled this country out of crisis, and now we must build a future, especially for the youth. This is just the beginning, and we must keep moving forward. I urge you to think about your future and vote wisely to the Gas Cylinder.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Prison Reform Ali Sabry
In the 2019 Presidential election, the Muslim Congress and the People’s Congress supported Sajith Premadasa. We collaborated with his government to promote societal unity. Mr. Hafiz Nasir Ahmed also joined us in opposing the forced cremation of deceased Muslims.
During the 2022 crisis, when no one stepped forward to lead the Ministry of Finance, I assumed the role. The International Monetary Fund advised me to collaborate with the opposition. We reached out to opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who directed us to Harsha de Silva. Following his request, we arranged a meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank and the Secretary of the Treasury at the office of the Leader of the Opposition. Subsequently, Harsha de Silva tweeted that taking over the government would be an extremely challenging task and challenging for anyone. Despite this, Ranil Wickremesinghe courageously took on the responsibilities of leading the country. That is true leadership.
The Muslim community has always acted in the best interests of the country. Now, the question is whether we will hand the presidency back to the leader who brought our nation to this point, or allow those who refused the challenge to step in. This is a crucial moment for that decision.
Over the past two years, after Muslim countries, our nation has been one of the strongest voices for the Palestinian people. A fund was established for their aid, and despite our own challenges, we successfully raised $2 million.
The President has also pledged to build a school for them in the future.Additionally, through the “Urumaya” program of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 02 million people are set to receive freehold land deeds.
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