Opposition MP Namal Rajapaksa has claimed that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa could have been a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize if he were currently serving as the country’s Head of State, asserting that his leadership had been instrumental in addressing major social crises.

Speaking at a recent event, Rajapaksa said that he and his political group had consistently worked to protect the public from what he described as “social disasters,” including the country’s conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

“We always tried to free the people of this country from social disasters. Our confrontation with the LTTE was to end a social catastrophe. Otherwise, we too could have chosen to look the other way,” he said.

Rajapaksa further alleged that despite these efforts, Mahinda Rajapaksa had ultimately been portrayed internationally as “a murderer and a thief.”

“If Mahinda Rajapaksa were in power today, he might even have received the Nobel Peace Prize. In the end, he was labelled by the world as a murderer and a thief. Why? Because he defeated the LTTE,” he added.

He also referred to the Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that policymakers had faced a critical decision between prioritising social stability or strictly adhering to economic prescriptions advocated by international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Rajapaksa maintained that such decisions reflected broader challenges in balancing economic management with safeguarding public welfare during times of crisis.