COLOMBO : Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa said here on Friday, Jan.7 that it is encouraging to see the soldiers from the armed forces are taking part in all the social activities such as in vaccination centres, Covid hospital and in national campaigns.
“ We should welcome such army men since they are not aliens and they are youths from our villages and towns,” the president said.
He made these remarks addressing the augural ceremony of the 1,000 New National Schools establishment programme at the Siyambalanduwa Maha Vidyalaya Friday morning.
“ All lawmakers should unite as one group for the country’s future,” he said, pointing out that it is their collective responsibility to face the setbacks as a team.
Criticizing only the shortcomings while avoiding this collective responsibility depicts a person’s incompetence, he added.
Everyone wants a ministerial post which I cannot give them, he said, adding that there are 30 ministers and 40 deputies in the government and being part of the government it is not right to criticize the government.
Because of the Covid intervention, the president said he had lost two of his five-year period of tenure. “ I would do my best to continue the program within the next three years as promised,”he concluded.
