‘I ended up here because I failed to govern the country for 5 years. Now, two years later, I am talking as if nothing happened. The people are the ones who will change this system. If you do not achieve what you expected, whether it is me or the ministers or the MPs in my government, do not bring back the same old group. Find new people. I do not know how to do it…’
This was said by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, not Anura Kumara or Tilvin Silva. He made this statement on November 10, 2021. When he made this statement, the only new group in Sri Lanka was the JVP. Gota was not saying to vote for the JVP but to find a new group. He was referring as the old group, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the UNP.
What Gota said on November 10, 2021, today people have done exactly what was said.
There are similarities as well as differences between Gota and Anura. Gota added a lot of strength to the SLFP to rebuild the SLFP, which was the SLFP after its defeat in 2015. He introduced new faces through strength. He introduced intelligent young faces that the SLFP lacked.
Anura formed the National People’s Force to rebuild the JVP, which had fallen to 3%, and added new faces, and intelligent young faces to it. Gota’s popular female character was Seetha Arambepola. Anura’s popular female character was Harini Amarasuriya.
Gota brought together the Sri Lankan community abroad to give oxygen to the SLFP. Through them, they influenced the people of Sri Lanka and, as the 2019 presidential election approached, they staged a drama in which thousands of overseas Sri Lankans came to the Katunayake Airport to vote for Gota.
Anura held meetings in foreign countries to give oxygen to the JVP and pressured Sri Lanka through overseas Sri Lankans, saying that the only option was the compass. They brought Sri Lankans abroad to the Katunayake airport to vote for him, just like Gota, and staged Gota’s show.
Gota held business conferences to show that prominent businessmen in Sri Lanka were with him through the Viat Maga. The prominent businessmen at those business conferences were business leaders like John Keells’ Krishan Balendran and Dialog’s head Hans Wijesuriya.
Anura took the Viat Maga as an example and held business conferences to show the country that businessmen were with him. The business leaders who came to Gota’s economic conferences also came to Anura’s conferences.
Gota became president by attacking his rivals through social media and building his image. Anura used social media to the fullest to become president. Anura had a more active social media network than Gota. But Anura used the same social media force that Gota used to build Gota’s image.
The biggest accusation against Anura in the 2024 presidential election was that Anura had no experience in governance and that if Anura came, the JVP terror would start and the country would become a lake of blood. The biggest accusation against Gota in 2019 was that if Gota became president, he would become a Hitler and form a military government and turn Sri Lanka into a lake of blood. The next accusation was that Gota had no experience in governance.
Ranil, who was the Prime Minister, helped Gota become president during the 2019 presidential election. He pulled Sajith by the leg to defeat the UNP presidential candidate. Ranil also helped Anura become president. If Ranil had held the general election first, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya would have won. Also, Ranil came to the presidential race and strengthened the campaign in the provinces where minorities lived favourably for Sajith more than in other provinces, reducing the minority votes Sajith received and defeating Sajith.
Gota did not become a Hitler as his opponents said. He was a Democrat. The terror of the JVP did not begin when Anura became president. The country was more peaceful than it had been.
After Gota became president, there was a big debate about whether Gota took advice from Viyathmaga or the Rajapaksa family, the leaders of the Pohottuwa. It is impossible to say whether the question of whether Anura took advice from the JVP or the new team from Compass will arise after this general election.
Gota was caught in a power struggle between the Rajapaksa family and his closest advisor, media chief Dilith Jayaweera, who advised him to pave the way for Viyathmaga. Gota once sided with the Rajapaksa family and once sided with Dilith Jayaweera.
After this general election, Anurat is taking sides with Compass and the JVP led by Tilvin.
Gota became president and appointed committees of businessmen to seek advice. Duminda Hulangamuwa was on the economic advisory committee that Gota appointed to build the economy. Dialog chairman Hans Wijesuriya was there to advise him on economic digitalization. Anura has appointed the same businessmen Gota appointed to advise him on economic digitalization today. Anura’s economic advisor is Duminda Hulangamuwa. Digitalization has been entrusted to Hans Wijesuriya.
Gota became president to investigate the Central Bank robbery, punish the culprits involved, and recover the wealth lost to the country due to the Central Bank robbery.
Anura said during the presidential election that the Rajapaksa family’s hidden money in Uganda would be brought back and save the debt, that the mastermind of the Easter attacks would be arrested, and that the mastermind of the Central Bank robbery would be arrested.
Gota also received 6.9 million. Anura also received the same amount of votes.
‘Is Anura like Gota…?’
Gota is a military officer. Anura is a great politician. Gota went wrong because he did not know politics. Also, Gota did not have a party. But Anura is a politician who has worked with Chandrika, Mahinda, and Ranil and has become a politician. A party in the country has fought two rebellions to protect him. That is the biggest and only reason why Anura is not Gota.
