Aragalaya should have been dealt with the same way dissent was dealt in the 70s & 80s - SLPPs Sanath Nishantha

COLOMBO (News 1st); Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not face the protests in the appropriate manner and was too soft on the Aragalaya, said Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MP Sanath Nishantha noting that it is his personal view and not the view of the SLPP.

"If Madame Sirimavo Bandaranaike could face the 1971 Riots, if J. R. Jayawardena and Ranasinghe Premadasa were able to face 1988, and 1989 riots, and also eliminate terrorism, these present-day agitators should not be treated separately," said the MP.

He said Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the first President in history to allocate an area named the agitation site for people to protest and voice their issues.

He said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to vacate the Presidency and leave the country because he did not properly face the uprising from the Frontline Socialists Party and the JVP that could not even muster 3% of votes in the country, which was supported by the Diaspora.

"78 residences of MPs were torched and one cannot say that this was caused by enraged people. This was an organized act," he said.

"The people protested against Basil Rajapaksa, he resigned. They protested against the President, and he resigned. They protested against the Prime Minister, and he too resigned. What do they want now? Do they want us to die now," the MP remarked on the calls from the protestors.

The MP further said that the 6.9 million people who voted for Gotabaya Rajapaksa are not the people seen at the Aragalaya Grounds smoking cannabis.

"We challenge for an election. On that day the SLPP will show where we are in the hearts of the people," said Sanath Nishantha adding that if 'Drug Addicts' can topple the government, it would only take them 10 kilograms of narcotics.

He said that he was told by the Criminal Investigations Department that there were separate tents at the protest site for drug usage.