While condemning the killing of an UPFA supporter in Madurankuliya by a group of gunmen on Saturday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he will not allow thuggery to take root in the country under any circumstances.

The President was addressing over 100,000 people at the Maligapitiya grounds in Kurunegala.

“We should not give any room to the person who thinks that he can get political mileage by killing innocent people,” he said.

“We will put a full stop to thuggery and conspiracy to divide the country by remerging the North and the East on January 26,” he stressed. He added that the people of this nation gave him power to save the country.

The President reiterated that part of the country was handed over to the terrorists by an agreement and by the time he came into power the terrorists have set up their own administration for a separate State.

He said several traders were engaged in a futile attempt to create an artificial rice shortage in the country by hiding their stocks. The President reminded that this type of conspiracy was in place during 1977 and all hidden stocks came out after the 1977 General election.

“Certain elements have said on election platforms that I will be sent to a cottage in a rural village after the election. He said these elements of the pampered class have neither seen a cottage nor experienced the life in rural villages in the country”, he said.

He added that he did not sell any property belonging to the State during his entire tenure as the President. He said the Government has brought several State ventures which were privatized by previous administrations under its control during the past four years.

President Rajapaksa said some weak leaders in the country did not identify LTTE members as terrorists in fear of their lives at that time.

He stressed that more than 30,000 service personnel sacrificed their lives to safeguard the unitary state of the country and the Government is bound to protect and promote the unitary state of the country.