Pledge on 13A is a ploy to hoodwink people: Tilvin

● Says President is trying to divert the people’s attention from burning issues and mounting protest against them

The pledge given by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was a ploy to hoodwink the people, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said yesterday.

He told a news conference that President Ranil Wickremesinghe was trying to divert the people’s attention from burning issues and mounting protest against them.

“It is Ranil Wickremesinghe who initiated this dialogue on 13A again. No one was talking about it. People across the country were talking about the rising cost of living and the economic crisis. We ask people not to get caught to these racial ploys,” he said.

He said President Ranil Wickremesinghe is continuously obstructing the Local Government election process not due to financial constraints but due to lack of votes from the people.

Silva said the latest move to obstruct the election was to ban state officials from obtaining goods and services on credit basis.

“This order was given to prevent the Election Commission from carrying out the election activities on credit basis. This is an anti-democratic move. Ranil Wickremesinghe as the President has no right to intervene in this manner to obstruct the election,” he said.