I stood up for you, my people, against all odds, for your very survival

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that he has done everything that needs to be done for the country and whether he should continue that journey, should be decided by the public.

The President said that the people will have to decide whether the future of the country will be protected or not, when the Election Commission designates a date for the Presidential election in September or October.

The President speaking further, said that, “Ishaq Mohideen Baig said in his song that he sang here, that the future of the country is in my hands. Actually, the future is not in my hands, but in the hands of the people. I have now done everything I could.”

The President said that it is the people who should decide whether he ought to continue with this journey or not. “When the Election Commission names the date for the Presidential election in September or October, people should decide whether or not to protect the future of the country”.

He said that he accepted a country with no fuel, no electricity, no money and no fertiliser, as well as a country without an economy. “There was no one to accept the country, but I accepted it.

“The United National Party (UNP) has always come forward for the country. If others are going backwards, we, as the UNP, have to take over the country. The UNP is always of that view”, he said.

“Former Prime Ministers Dudley Senanayake and Sir John Kothelawala and former Presidents J.R. Jayewardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa and D.B. Wijethunga did that work since the era of D.S. Senanayake.

“In 2021, when the economy was in a negative state, it was taken over and rebuilt. When the port and the airport were closed, I took over the country and built it. But the LTTE broke that journey”, he said.

He said that the economy was rebuilt in the same way in 2015. “When I handed over in 2019, there was a surplus in the primary Budget and the country’s foreign exchange rose to US$ 7 billion. I said then, that we should fight the next election to rebuild the economy. But then, many Parties engaged in politics based on promises”.

The President said that finding US$ 3 billion should be his only goal before the election. “We also included that in the election manifesto then. If those US$ 3 billion was received and had gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), I would not be here today”, he said.

He said a breakaway group from our Party got together and formed a political group to make promises again.”

“When Gotabaya Rajapaksa invited me to talk about the country’s crisis, I also went with only Tamil Parties. The Opposition Leader ran away without accepting responsibility. They betrayed those who voted for them, as well”, the President said.

He added that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna was not even to be found. “Did they run away? I don’t know. I took over the country and negotiated with the IMF and international organisations. Gotabaya Rajapaksa had negotiated with India and taken US$ 3.5 million.

“Finally, there was no fertiliser for our agricultural products. When I told this to US Under Secretary Samantha Power in America, she sent the fertiliser. It was from there that the necessary fertilisers for the 2022-2023 Yala season were given and the rebuilding of agriculture started. We were also able to succeed in the next season, the Maha season. After discussing with the IMF, we got the opportunity to succeed in these activities.”

“I took over by a bankrupt government. Ten kilos of rice were given to low-income earners for two months. An allowance of ten thousand rupees was given to government employees, even with difficulty. Did non-bankrupt governments do this? We made such decisions in a bankrupt country. Instead of Samurdhi, we gave Aswesuma three times. We did this by managing money properly.”

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