President Mahinda Rajapaksa upon handing over nominations, will present to the people an extended version of the manifesto of Mahinda Chintana that will envisage extensive development plans to build the country, said the Minister of Transport Dullas Alahapperuma at a press conference held at Mahaweli Center today (30).

According to the Government Information Department, he said that it is the first time in the political history after independence that an extended version of an election manifesto was being presented by a political party leader. "In all elections in the past, all leaders presented new manifestos as a fashion", the Minister said.

Interjecting at this point, the Minister of Environment, Patali Champilka Ranawaka said that a document issued recently by the UNP titled, 'Future Challengers' was a carbon copy of a chapter in the original Mahinda Chintana presented in 2005."If you read that clearly, you will surely see that the UNP had copied that chapter", he noted.