President Maithripala Sirisena, addressing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) May Day rally at the Gatambe grounds in Kandy, rejected allegations that workers’ day had been hijacked by political parties, saying instead the two were intertwined.

“I have seen people saying that political parties have hijacked workers’ day,” the President said. “But that is not true. I would like to remind you workers’ day and politics are intertwined. When workers cry, we hear them, it is the politicians that responds to the workers’ cries,” the President said.

Furthermore, the President said all allegations that state was selling of its assets was untrue: “I ask those of you who put your trust in me on January 8, 2015, to remember that I was not elected to sell off parts of our country or change the place Buddhism has in the country as some have alleged” the President said.

He reminded those attending that he had been appointed to bring back independence and democracy to the country. “Today we have freedom, we have freedom of expression. We are not held to contempt in the international arena. This is what I was elected to do,” the President said.