Will stop pensions for parliamentarians – Anura Kumara

Only the National People Power (NPP) movement is capable of cleansing the political field by eliminating fraud and corruption, National People Power presidential candidate and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in Wellawaya on Wednesday.

Country cannot be governed properly with Parliamentarians changing party affiliations at random to claim the pension after completing five years in Parliament. Neither can a country be properly governed by elderly people who are over 70 years of age, he said.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed these sentiments addressing a well-attended presidential election rally organised by the National People’s power movement at the Wellawaya Bus stand premises. An enthusiastic crowd attended the rally braving heavy rain.

He said if he is elected President he would at the outset bring in legislation to prevent Parliamentarians from jumping from one party to another like frogs.

He said most Parliamentarians changed parties for financial considerations. Dissanayake said if he is elected president he would set up an administration which would do away with the pension given to Parliamentarians and prohibit people over 70 years of age from contesting elections.

He pointed out that an ordinary citizen had to submit a police report on good behaviour when he or she gained employment. But corrupt individuals engaged in various frauds and having criminal records and cases against them were able to become Parliamentarians in this country without hindrance.

Today if there was a racket involving illegal sand mining, illicit drugs or illicit brew very often there was a politicians behind it. Today the entire pepper trade was handled by politicians. That was why the price of pepper had sharply decreased. The National People’s Power Movement would ensure a high price for pepper if it was elected to power.

He said a National People’s Power administration would provide fertilizer regularly to farmers by introducing a new mixture of carbonic and chemical fertilizer.

He also promised to put a full stop to the Human-Elephant conflict through a proper management system and ensure law and order in the country.

(Source: Daily News – By G.I.R. Garusinghe)