ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka gears up for May Day celebrations with 40 rallies and marches planned islandwide for May 01 by all mainstream political parties.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) will hold its May Day rally on Wednesday at the P D Sirisena grounds in Colombo, UNP MP Vajira Abeywardena told the media.
Party supporters will be transported from the south of the country by bus and train for the rally, he said.
“This is becoming an event to show gratitude to President Wickremesinghe, the national leader who salvaged the country,” he added.
The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna plans to hold its May Day rally at the Campbell Park grounds in Borella, MP Namal Rajapaksa told reporters.
“We plan to hold the most successful May Day rally,” he said, adding that his party was able to fill the Galle Face Green as promised at a previous event and numbers for tomorrow will not be revealed yet.
Neither the UNP nor the SLPP will be holding a May Day march.
The main opposition party the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) plans to hold two separate rallies, both attended by opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa.
SJB national organiser Tissa Attanayake told the media that the main rally in Colombo will be held on Chatham street, from which the party’s march will commence.
The second rally will be held in Talawakale for the estate community, led by MP Palani Thigambaram, with the participation of plantation workers, said Attanayake.
The leftist National People’s Power (NPP) has planned four rallies around the country.
Party senior Tivlin Silva said the NPP will hold rallies in Colombo, Jaffna, Anuradhapura and Matara.
“This will be a historic May Day,” he said.
Meanwhile, at least one faction of the crisis-riddle Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has also planned a May Day rally.
Former President and ex-SLFP chairman Maithripala Sirisena told the media that the party’s rally will be held at the Gampaha municipal council grounds.
“Over 90 percent of the organisers are on the right side of the party. Other factions can’t mobilise people and get the support of organisers. The Gampaha may rally is important to us. The others can’t do this. I will attend as an MP but not be part of any organising,” he said.
Media reports citing police spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said 40 May Day events have been planned around the country. (Colombo/Apr30/2024)