UNP hits out at opposition leader Premadasa
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP), the party led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, has hit out at opposition leader Sajith Premadasa for not supporting the government’s reform initiatives.
At a press conference in Colombo on Monday (17), UNP general secretary and former MP Palitha Range Bandara chastized Premadasa for not extending the support of his party, the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), to President Wickremesinghe’s administration.
Referring to a statement from Premadasa in which he rubbished speculation of SJB crossovers to the government, Bandara claimed the “truth” that Premadasa was alluding to was that the people have realized that Sri Lanka has made notable progress under President Wickremesinghe compared to how things were a year ago.
“If Sajith wants to talk about deal politics, we would like to ask him if his party got the support of [other parties allied with the SJB] through deal-making,” Bandara demanded..
In his statement, Premadasa has flatly rejected media reports of crossovers, expressing his disgust at the reports which he said came from media outlets partial to the government.
Noting that fuel prices have dropped, queues for essentials have disappeared and Sri Lanka’s standing in the eyes of the world has improved, MP Bandara said anyone not recognizing these gains and supporting the government at this juncture was “kuhakai” (bitter and resentful).
Bandara’s remarks come in the wake of speculation that some SJB members were planning to cross over to the government, which many party seniors including Premadasa has loudly refuted.
However, SJB MP Nalin Bandara hinted last week that some crossovers could be expected, although it won’t be any kind of mass exodus.
“One or two may leave. We won’t say 100% that no one will leave. Some are looking to obtain ministries. It is surely no big deal for people who have been jumping this way or that since back then,” the SJB MP said earlier this month.
He, in fact, invited Wickremesinghe’s UNP to join a new SJB-led alliance that he said is on the cards.
The SJB broke away from the UNP following the defeat of then UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa at the 2019 presidential election. The UNP, once Sri Lanka’s single largest party, was reduced to a single seat at the 2020 general election, with Wickremesinghe occupying that seat as a national list member.
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