Exclusive: Look forward to strengthening our already close ties, says Namal Rajapaksa on India-Sri Lanka relations

Namal Rajapaksa, 38, the youngest candidate in Sri Lanka’s crucial presidential election, spoke in an exclusive interview with Padma Rao Sundarji for The Times of India.
Q: You are the youngest candidate in tomorrow’s presidential election and are pitched against Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist-Leninist, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and current interim president Ranil Wickremesinghe. What is it that you offer, that they do not?

NR: A new, modern approach to economic growth and state administration.

Q: But you are untried and untested by the Sri Lankan voter. Do you really believe you are going to win?

NR: Of course.
Q: Do you think even the troubled parts of the country, like the Tamil-dominated North and East will vote for you?

NR: An election is all about winning people over, wherever they may be. The outcome of an election depends on the needs of the people at a given time. So whatever policies we announce, we must take the responsibility of sticking to them. I am not concerned with what politicians in the North and East claim their people want. My deal is with the people themselves. There is unemployment, and much must be done in the fields of health and education in those provinces. Nobody is addressing those issues. It is my intention to do so.

Q: The Rajapaksas are not particularly popular in India. Many Indians are of the belief that if a Rajapaksa returns to power, it will not be good for relations with India.

NR: I don’t think so. We Rajapaksas have had a very amicable relationship with India for generations. We ended the terrorism that killed one of your Prime Ministers. So, a lot of Indians want to see Rajapaksas running Sri Lanka. And we believe in modernising, not westernising. I am in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on that issue. I also believe our visions are similar. There is a close bond between our Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party (SLPP) and his Bharatiya Janata Party as well. I look forward to strengthening our already close ties.

Q: It’s all fine to be young and dynamic. But your country is in the throes of serious external debt. It will surely require enormous international experience, which you don’t have yet?

NR: What makes you think I don’t have that experience? I have been in parliament for 15 years. I have built a strong and trustworthy network of foreign leaders and industry leaders. We’ll work with experts, and we’ll hire the best within the country and overseas to negotiate and strike the best deal on behalf of Sri Lanka.

Q: If you are invited to work with any other political party, will you do so? What if a new elected president doesn’t dissolve parliament and asks you to be PM straightaway? After all, your party does have a majority in parliament.

NR: First, I want to ensure political stability in my country. Let’s allow the people to vote first. I can take on any role, but I would rather that the current parliament is first dissolved and that another parliamentary election is held. Then, if the people themselves elect me back with the intention of seeing me as PM, I’ll take on that, or any other role. Whichever it may be, I will lead my party and protect national interests.

(Padma Rao Sundarji is a veteran foreign correspondent and author of “Sri Lanka: The New Country”, HarperCollins 2015)