* Minister accuses Sri Lanka opposition of stealing points from the President's manifesto
Wed, Mar 17, 2010, 07:25 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Mar 17, Colombo: General Secretary of Sri Lanka’s ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Minister Maithripala Sirisena says that the opposition United National Front (UNF) policy manifesto consists of points previously included in the President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Mahinda Chinthana policy manifesto.

The Minister pointed out that the UNF manifesto had been prepared out of the parts of the manifesto produced jointly by the United National Party and the Marxist People's Liberation Front for the presidential election and the parts from the Mahinda Chinthana policy manifesto.

The UNF manifesto reflects the political bankruptcy of the opposition and it is in dire need of intellectuals to compile a manifesto since such elements have vacated the opposition parties, the Minister explained.

Minister Sirisena said that the United National Party always manipulated cost of living to come to power. But the people no more believe the solutions proposed by the opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, he argued.

The UNp did not fulfill any of the promises given to the public during its rule from 2001 to 2004. The Mahinda Chinthana policy manifesto on the other hand targeted a massive development programme, the Minister elaborated.