United Socialist Party General Secretary Siritunga Jayasuriya yesterday stated that those who enjoyed undue benefits under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government now want him back in power.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, he said that before Rajapaksa came to the leadership of Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the party included respectable people in the community. However, under Rajapaksa, Pradeshiya Sabha Chairmen and other members took control of the villages and intimidated people, he said. They also amassed wealth in illegal methods, he added. These are the people who want Rajapaksa back, Jayasuriya added.

He said that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa now wants to return to power by instigating communal rivalry and pointed out that this is a dangerous development which will lead to the break-up of the country.

Jayasuriya also pointed out that no one spoke on the 48 lakh (4.8 million) people that voted for Ranil Wickremesinghe after the 2005 Presidential Election. In that election, Wickremesinghe accepted defeat and let Mahinda Rajapaksa govern the country as the president. However, those who support Mahinda Rajapaksa have started a new culture of speaking about the 58 lakhs (5.8 million) who voted for him. This was not a culture that was seen ever before in Sri Lanka, he added.