UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene said the Government has no plans to direct school teachers who take to the streets demanding salaries back to school and to send back farmers who have taken to the streets demanding fertilizer.
“The Government, without solving the teacher-principal salary issue, is threatening teachers to return to work using the police and village thugs. Teachers are being pressured to come to school on the 21st,” he said, adding that the United National Party condemns these actions of the Minister in charge of the Police for using the police to make official threats on teachers.
Wijewardena noted that Teachers’ unions allege that intelligence officers have threatened to pick up teachers and principals if they do not report for duty. “This is how the teachers who developed the minds of thousands of children are treated. Now the Government is shamelessly calling the teachers terrorists. If they do not report for duty on the 21st, they will try to run schools by employing trainee teachers and graduates recruited as development officers,” he added.
The UNP Deputy Leader also raised the issue of food scarcity in the country adding that it is evident even while walking on the streets.
“There are ordinary people who can be seen purchasing discarded vegetables sold at cheap prices by roadside vendors,” he said, calling on the Government ministers to get off from their luxury vehicles and witness the plight of the people.
Due to the fertilizer problem, a large number of farmers have moved away from farming and started shifting to other jobs, said Wijewardene, calling on the Government to take immediate action to prevent an imminent food shortage. If there is a famine in the country, he said they would hold the Government directly responsible.
“Think intelligently and make decisions right now to prevent that famine. If the decisions made so far are wrong, do not hesitate to reverse them. The hunger of the innocent people is greater than the pride of the heads of Government. Innocent people trusted and gave the government a two-thirds mandate not to play with their lives. The farmers have not yet ploughed their paddy fields as they don’t believe the Government will provide them fertilizer. Instead, the farmers are on the streets demanding fertilizer. This government has no plan to send the farmer back to the paddy field. Also, this Government has no plan to send teachers and principals back to schools,” he said, adding that the people are now aware of how useless this Government is.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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