Leader of the opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa says the Government has killed hundred birds with one stone.
He said that public attention has been distracted by the recent en mase resignations by Muslim Ministers and the Government has managed to sweep many issues under the carpet.
“The Central bank bond scam has been forgotten. The debt crisis has been forgotten. Some of those injured in the Easter Sunday attacks are still in hospital but they too have been forgotten. There is now no talk about extremists. The searches have stopped. The discovery of weapons has ceased. There is no talk of the steps being taken with regard to the terrorist suspects arrested. Thus, the government has killed about a hundred birds with one stone,” Rajapaksa said in a statement today.
He also said that the United National Party (UNP) is making good use of the Muslim community for their political purposes.
“The UNP needs the votes of the moderates as well as the extremists within the Muslim community. They don’t care where their votes come from. The Muslim leaders for their part, want a government they can manipulate at will. But this confluence of interests will not solve the problem that the ordinary Muslims of this country face today. The ordinary people of this country want protection from extremists terorists. The ordinary Muslim folk in this country want to weed out the terrorists from their midst and to resume their normal lives,” he said.
Rajapaksa also said that due to the emergence of exclusively Muslim political parties from the 1980s onwards, Muslims isolated themselves in the political sphere and the en masse resignation of Muslim Ministers marks a high point in this process.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
