President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday stated that he is not involved in politics of hatred. Speaking at the inauguration of the Deduru Oya Multi-purpose Development Project, Rajapaksa said that it was this that has allowed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to expand its numbers in the parliament.

The president added that when he started he had only 57 SLFPers in the parliament, but today there are 127 SLFP members, if one does not consider the few defections that had taken place in the last few days. He said that this was made possible not by involving in politics of hatred.

The Deduru Oya Project is expected to supply drinking water to 150,000 people and irrigate 30,000 acers of land. It is also expected to generate electricity by this project.