Chief Government Whip and Housing and Urban Development Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said yesterday that he has received the result of the secret ballot conducted at the Minuwangoda Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Bala Mandala and most of the members have voted to work closely with the current President at this moment. The Minister said that extending support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe at this moment is not piggybacking on the elephant and expressing support in this manner is not leaving the SLPP.
He also stressed that he held a secret vote in the Minuwangoda SLPP Bala Mandala to make a future political decision and not to leave the SLPP. Minister Ranatunga said that he has always taken the right political decisions in accordance with his conscience and he will never hesitate to take the necessary political decision at the right time by bowing to public opinion. “I will never betray the people who have place their trust in me,” he added. Minister Ranatunga was giving a special statement to the media soon after returning to the island after a foreign visit. He further said that it is the position of the Minuwangoda SLPP Bala Mandala that everybody should support the President’s programme without scuttling his efforts to rebuild the country. “Therefore, it is not about leaving the Pohottuwa party, but, it is the best decision that can and should be taken at this moment to protect the public opinion of Pohottuwa.
The Minister said that he is not ready to betray the people of Gampaha and not ready to break the trust they have placed in him. However, he emphasized that he is ready to take the necessary political decision without hesitation in the time of need by respecting public opinion.
