Colombo: The leader of the New Lanka Freedom Party (NLFP) has warned former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has returned to the country after fleeing in July following massive protests, against taking to politics once again.
Kumara Welgama said at the opening of a NLFP office at Battaramulla on Monday that Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not have any knowledge of politics and, therefore, should leave politics to politicians.
“I opposed him entering politics when he was picked as the SLPP’s presidential candidate. The past two years have proved that what we foresaw was right,” The Island newspaper on Tuesday quoted Welgama as saying.
“Now, a story is doing the rounds that he would try to engage in politics, again. All I am telling him is that he should not think of returning to active politics again.”
Gotabaya Rajapaksa flew out of Sri Lanka to The Maldives and later to Singapore after tens of thousands of people took over the Presidential palace and other key government buildings in protest against an unprecedented economic crisis plaguing the country.
The former President returned to Sri Lanka over the weekend from Thailand after reportedly failing to secure a visa for the United States where a part of his family lives.
