Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

RANIL MUST STEP DOWN AND LET SAJITH TAKE OVER

AND LET SAJITH TO TAKE OVER: MANUSHA

- BY SANDUN A JAYASEKERA

Galle District MP Manusha Nanayakkar­a urged former prime minister and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesi­nghe to give the majority members in the party a chance at least at this late stage and allow Sajith Premadasa to take over the party leadership.

He said the UNP members must not make deals with the government based on personal agendas and provide the government with a two-thirds majority to dissolve Parliament before March 1.

The MP told the Galle District UNP executive committee that Sajith should be given the party leadership and the post of Opposition Leader as he is the most popular politician in the opposition and also the leader who won the confidence of all Sri Lankans countrywid­e.

“Don’t forget that Sajith won the confidence of Sinhala Buddhists, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays and all other minority communitie­s. He is the true leader of all Sri Lankans. Therefore he is not the leader of a part of Sri Lanka but of the entire country. The difference in winning and losing is only 700,000 votes,” he said.

“It is not Sajith Premadasa who got beaten at the presidenti­al election but all peace-loving masses who believed in reconcilia­tion, inter-communal harmony and cohabitati­on. We can see the fate of Sri Lanka before long,” the MP said.“ranil was the UNP leader when we were still at school. But the UNP desperatel­y needs new thinking, new leadership and a new work plan if we are to rise again as the most powerful and biggest political party in Sri Lanka. There is a handful of unsuccessf­ul UNP politician­s with shady background­s

Don’t forget that Sajith won the confidence of Sinhala Buddhists, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays and all other minority communitie­s. He is the true leader of all Sri Lankans

batting for Ranil right now. A 95% of UNP supporters and voters reject Ranil outright and demand Sajith’s leadership for the party and the opposition and are asking Ranil to step down with dignity and self respect before it is too late.” He said he was sad that the UNP, the grand old party that ruled the country longer than any other party and led by revered politician­s like D.S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, Sir John Kotalawela, J.r.jayewarden­e, R. Premadasa and D.b.wijetunga suffered a huge setback under Ranil and no one could prevent it becoming a minor party with no influence in national politics if Ranil remain as the leader any longer.

“The cry of the Unp-loving public round the country is,‘ranil please go for god’s sake as you have done much harm not only to the UNP, but to the economy and the country’” the MP said.

It is not Sajith Premadasa who got beaten at the presidenti­al election but all peace-loving masses who believed in reconcilia­tion, intercommu­nal harmony and cohabitati­on

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