Polls Chief Mahinda Deshapriya yesterday said that he had been compelled to intervene following complaints received from the people of the area.
The Elections Secretariat has warned the JVP not to conduct the on-going vehicle procession through Kegalle and Anuradhapura towns in view of the forthcoming elections for the Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provinces.
Polls Chief Mahinda Deshapriya yesterday said that he had been compelled to intervene following complaints received from the people of the area. Asked whether the Elections Secretariat had reached an understanding with the JVP as regards its propaganda campaign janapelagasma, Deshapriya said that the JVP should follow instructions. However, the party could conduct its protest campaign freely in areas outside the provinces that would go to the polls.
The JVP’s vehicle parade which started from Devinuwara last Friday (July 27) reached Dambulla on Monday. The procession resumed from Dambulla yesterday morning. The JVP told The Island that it planned to reach Medawachchiya on Tuesday evening.
Asked whether the Elections Department had intervened in their political project, JVP parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told The Island that the Elections Secretariat had raised the issue with JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva.
He said that he was at Eppawela at the moment taking part in the vehicle procession. Could anything be as ridiculous as the Election Department’s intervention to control their movement through the North Central Province, whereas the SLFP-led UPFA blatantly violated election laws, an irate JVPer said.
"What we need is a level playing field and equal opportunities to all political parties," MP Dissanayake said.
(Island)