The Anuradhapura Municipal Council has refused to provide the city’s two main sports grounds for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) rally scheduled to be held in Anuradhapura on the 12th.
The Anuradhapura Municipal Commissioner has informed the organisers that the Walisinghe Harischandra Stadium and the Salgadu Municipal Grounds cannot be provided on that date as they have already been reserved by other parties.
The Municipal Council has also advised the SLPP organisers to make arrangements to reserve another suitable date for the rally.
However, SLPP representatives have strongly protested against the decision.
They allege that although they had applied in advance to reserve the Salgadu Grounds, the venue was later allocated to another party that had applied subsequently. They further claim that the Walisinghe Harischandra Stadium had also been reserved for a third party, and that the refusal to provide either venue to them was unfair.
SLPP representatives have further alleged that the move was an act of political retaliation carried out on the instructions of the Mayor representing the National People's Power (NPP).
