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12-member team plans grand National Day show in President’s hometown
Next year’s 67th national day celebrations on February 4 will be held in President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ancestral village of Weeraketiya.
The venue will be the Rajapaksa Maha Vidyalaya grounds which could accommodate 30,000 visitors.
The Cabinet has appointed a 12-member Committee headed by Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne to prepare a programme and monitor arrangements.
Its other members are Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Ministers W.D.J. Seneviratne, Bandula Gunawardena, Keheliya Rambukwella, T.B. Ekanayake, Mahinda Amaraweera, Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijelal de Silva, Deputy Ministers Nirupama Rajapaksa, Vijaya Dahanayake, Parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa and V.K. Indika.
It is not immediately clear whether a presidential election will be held before or after the event. Sections of the UPFA believe the presidential polls are likely in January whilst others say it would be in March. This guessing game notwithstanding, a Minister said yesterday, arrangements would be made to observe the national day on a grander scale in the President’s home town.