General22 June 2026

Handunnetti recalls travelling without bus tickets to protest UNP

Minister Sunil Handunnetti states that during the United National Party government, people travelled by bus without tickets to raise awareness against the White Paper brought by the administration.

Delivering the keynote address at the Socialist Students' Union Student Heroes Day commemoration, the Minister mentioned that mobile phones did not exist back then like today, and that he was the only one with a mobile phone in the university. Reflecting on the past, the Minister also stated that he served as the Inter-University Students' Federation convener at the time.

Minister Sunil Handunnetti further said that on a day they were travelling to educate the public about the White Paper introduced by the UNP government, he used the money he possessed to buy food for a student who was crying for rice. He added that they subsequently travelled to the University of Sri Jayewardenepura by bus without paying.
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