SJB parliamentarian Eran Wickramaratne has requested the public to find out whether a party has a good leader and team as well as plans and capabilities to develop the country.
Addressing a press conference in Colombo, Wickramaratne said that when every country in the world is open to the outside world, a group of inexperienced people are asking for power to close the country by showing socialism and Marxism.
The MP warned of the parties and groups involved in propagating false theories that have failed worldwide over the years by blocking investment in higher education and private school education in the country.
“Sri Lanka has the second highest percentage of its people living abroad. Most of the youth started leaving the country for higher education and employment due to the fear that they would have no future in the Rajapaksa era. But they are not going to Cuba or North Korea. They don't try to go to closed countries for good prospects.
When the previous government tried to sign a trade agreement with India, they scared the people that they were going to build a bridge connecting the two countries and make Sri Lanka vulnerable to Indian interests.
Now those countries are moving away from the era of bridges and talking about building bridges to supply gas and renewable electricity.
The parties that talk about Marxism are still stagnant. Also, despite the fact that the US had approved giving nearly USD 500 million as a grant to Sri Lanka under the MCC agreement, the usual separatist talk that the country is being divided prevented the grant being received.
Young people should remember that this country gets more light from Alva Edison's bulb rather than Marxism.
The country should be freed from the era of keeping the economy of the country closed in the name of Marxism and socialism and chanting various slogans that these resources of ours cannot be sold.
The country was destroyed by those slogans. We should get away from the illusion of holding onto our assets for nothing without taking any benefits to the people who are the real owners of them," he added.
