{"id":191684,"date":"2018-06-29T22:05:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T16:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=191684"},"modified":"2018-06-30T10:37:42","modified_gmt":"2018-06-30T05:07:42","slug":"if-gota-becomes-president-i-will-run-the-country-basil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/if-gota-becomes-president-i-will-run-the-country-basil\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018If Gota Becomes President, I Will Run The Country\u2019 \u2014 Basil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Basil Rajapaksa<\/a> laid to rest rumors of a rift between himself and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa<\/a> with respect to who would be the presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna, saying that it will be former president and their elder brother Mahinda who will nominate the candidate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Basil<\/p><\/div>\n

In an interview with the \u2018Ada\u2019 newspaper (June 29), Basil said that his primary concern is to defeat this government and it doesn\u2019t matter if it is Gotabaya or anyone else who contests the next presidential election.<\/p>\n

\u2018No one has suffered at the hands of this government as I have. If one of my brothers comes forward I can play a more prominent role. The relationship I have with President Mahinda is the same as the one I have with Gotabaya. We went to school together, we were in the USA together. Since Mahinda and Chamal were older they were a bit distant to us. The truth is that if Gotabaya comes forward it will be I who will run the country since he is new to politics.\u2019<\/p>\n

Basil also stated that past mistakes cannot be repeated because they contributed to the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaka<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He revealed that he had come to an understanding with Gotabaya regarding the presidential election. \u2018We don\u2019t know who Mahinda will nominate or if either of us would be nominated either. However, there will be no conflict between us. May the gods protect those who envisage such a division.\u2019\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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