Sri Lanka, May 11 -- The National People's Power (NPP) must avoid falling into the trap of political wheeling and dealing that characterised previous Governments, senior academic and Jana Balaya activist Prof. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said yesterday. Speaking at a press conference at the N.M. Perera Centre in Colombo to discuss the post-Local Government election landscape, the University of Colombo Professor said the NPP must resist resorting to so-called "deal politics" to gain control of Local Government Councils.

"The country should reject deal politics," Prof. Dewasiri said. "We have seen how previous Governments secured control of Councils by offering bribes to Independent candidates, such as during the formation of the Colombo Munic...