President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that the opposition is planning to privatize the state sector.

Speaking at a rally in Akkaraipattu yesterday, he stated that the oppositions's policy statement is now public and it has clearly stated that the state sector management and administration will be transformed.

This is another way of saying that management will be handed over to the private sector, the PResident said.

His government will never let the public sector decline or hand it over to the private sector, the president said. 'I had already decided that those who have been in government service as temporary cadre for more than 180 days will be made permanent,' he added.

The president urged the people to think of the future of their children and not to return to racial divisions.

The Akkaraipattu meeting came in the backdrop of uncertainity over whom the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will support in the election. Akkaraipattu, a predominantly Muslim area, is a stronghold of the party.