Trying to fool Lankan women all the time

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa is now trying to fool women in the run up to the presidential election by putting forward his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa as Pohottuwa party (SLPP) presidential candidate.

But he cannot fool all the women of Sri Lanka all the time by uttering lies and distorting facts, several leading women rights activists said adding that women have no worries about his 2015 defeat as they are very well aware the attitude towards them by his siblings and close supporters including mass rapists.

Addressing the first convention of Sri Lanka Podujana Women’s Front held at past Saturday (31), the former President said the microfinance loans have made rural women debt-ridden without mentioning the present government’s relief scheme initiated by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to write off most of those loans.

The Government has absorbed more than Rs 1.25 billion worth of unpaid microfinance debt incurred by 45,139 women in the North, East and North Central Provinces.

According to the Ministry of Finance,lending companies have written-off Rs 141.41 million worth of interest payments on these loans.

At the women’s convention, Mahinda Rajapaksa also spoke about the present government’s budget proposal to provide financial assistance for the redemption of the jewelry pawned in banks by rural women high lighting it as a broken promise.

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Mr. Rajapaksa has conveniently forgotten that all the details of the government’s relief for women in the North and the East who borrowed money from finance companies and pawned their jewelry were presented by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in parliament on 5 April 2019.

This revelation was made by him in response to a question raised by the opposition leader and it is a pity that Mahinda Rajapksa is now trying to fool women who have already benefited by the government's relief schemes, leading women rights activists said.

Last year, the Government introduced a scheme to write off non-consumption loans up to Rs 100,000 given to women by all registered finance companies in the drought-affected districts of Trincomalee, Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.

According to 2015 budget proposal, 36,000 women were paid Rs.94 million to redeem their mortgaged jewellery. We waived off loans amounting to Rs.736 million obtained by 57,000 farmers while 115,000 drought-affected people were paid Rs.1.2 billion in 12 districts," minister told parliament.

But all those things have fallen onto deaf ears of Mahinda Rajapksa who is now hell bent on fooling the masses.