Nandana pleads with JVP: Join the Govt.

JVP Kalutara district parliamentarian and its former presidential candidate, Nandana Gunatillake said in an interview he decided to resign from the party’s central committee as the majority of the members did not agree with his views.

He said some of the suggestions he made was to join the government and accept more responsibilities in governance and to contest the recently concluded local government elections under the UPFA alliance.

Mr. Gunatillake in an interview with our sister newspaper ‘Irida Lankadeepa’ said though he had no immediate plans to quit the party he wanted the central committee to review its decisions.
Following are excerpts of the interview:

For almost a year I have not addressed the public. I have not given any television or newspaper interviews. I kept to the minimum my attendance at parliament.

There were reasons that prompted me to do this. From even before the presidential election, a majority of central committee members opposed my suggestions which were for the betterment of the party. As I was unable to accept this continued opposition and the decisions taken by these members I decided to keep a low profile.

Amid such a situation did you resign from the central committee or as some JVP members claim removed from the CC?

Ours is a democratic party. There is room for differences of opinion and for discussion. From August last year until February this year there have been differences of opinion within the party and the decisions taken by it. My conscience did not allow me to work in such a scenario.

Did you refuse to act on the decisions taken by the central committee during the period you mentioned?

My proposals were not acceptable to a majority of CC members and I for my part was not prepared to agree to opinions expressed by the majority in keeping with my conscience.

I could have remained in the CC if I was prepared to stomach the decisions taken by the majority. As such on February 7, I informed the party in writing about my decision to quit the CC and my wish to give up my other responsibilities in the party.

But I requested permission to retain my party membership. Of course since then there have been plenty of rumours and stories floating around.

Yes I did and informed the party in writing. Our party leadership is aware of my decision.

I am not aware of such a thing. If someone has said so then it is wrong. I have been a member of this party for more than 20 years. I have never made any attempt to ‘teach’ the politburo; instead I have learnt a lot from the party especially my politics.

You have been a JVP stalwart. You even contested the presidential election. You were one of few among the present JVP leadership to have associated with your late leader Rohana Wijeweera. How is it that after such a long association with the party differences have cropped up now?

When there are discussions it is only natural to hold different view points.

The party implements decisions taken by the CC and as I was unable to agree with most of the vital decisions which were contrary to the views I held, I thought it best to move out of the CC.

To give an example, I wholeheartedly agreed with the JVP’s decision to fully support the candidature of Mahinda Rajapaksa for the presidency. Thereafter when I made further proposals and was strongly of the view that we should take more responsibility in governance, the majority opposed it.

Another of my proposals was that we should contest the local government elections in alliance with the UPFA government.

I believed it would have benefited the country as there were capable and dedicated members in the village who could work for the country through the local government institutions. We could have easily achieved a big victory.

Because the majority in the CC opposed my suggestion on joining the government and undertaking more responsibility and contesting the local elections as an alliance I felt I could not remain in the CC any more.

Traditionally the party works according to the will of the majority but in this instance I was unable to agree with that position. I have been with the party for more than two decades and after my proposals were rejected I realized there was no opportunity for any contribution from me.

My work for the betterment of the party was stunted. This led to my decision to quit.

I am not saying they should do so.

No. The JVP is the only party that can salvage the country. It is made up of a group of honest members who can and have made sacrifices. I feel that if the party is to govern the country then the JVP should transform itself into a multi-organizational party.

It would have been far-reaching if the JVP joined the government and also contested the local government elections in alliance with the government.

You mean to say the JVP has a long way to go before being able to govern the country?

We have the ability to hold ministerial positions. We accepted four ministries after the UPFA was elected to office. We proved ourselves by producing results. We handled the ministries in an efficient manner. We quit because of President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s stubborn attitude.

I had the opportunity to do so in the past. Wimal Weerawansa and myself refused to accept portfolios.

I have only given up my posts in the party and the CC. I want to get the party back on the correct path. My appeal to the central committee is to review its past mistakes.