An internecine clash

The Opposition parties, except the SJB, have joined forces to launch a campaign to countervail what they describe as a government plan to establish a fascist state.

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The NPP government has dubbed the new Opposition alliance a coalition of political rejects and rogues, claiming that they have come together to protect their own interests rather than democracy. The Opposition alliance should secure the backing of the SJB before venturing to mobilise the masses.

The Opposition's argument that the JVP-led NPP is pushing the country towards a one-party rule is not untenable. However, the incumbent government is not alone in having sought to do so. The UNP strove to decimate the Opposition after its mammoth victory in the 1977 general election. Thankfully, it failed in that endeavour and the Opposition made a comeback 17 years later. The Mahinda Rajapaksa government also debilitated the Opposition by engineering a host of defections and resorting to coercion, but could not stop the worm from turning, so to speak.