‘UNP confident President will stand by PM, Govt.’

UNP Gampaha District MP and UNP National Youth Front Chairman Kavinda Jayawardana and UNP Colombo District MP Hirunika Premachandra at yesterday’s press briefing at Sirikotha. Picture by Ruwan de Silva

Zahrah Imtiaz-Saturday, March 31, 2018

The UNP believes that President Maithripala Sirisena will stand by them and support Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Government, UNP Gampaha District MP and UNP National Youth Front Chairman Kavinda Jayawardana said yesterday.

“The President is one of us and even if the SLFP abandons him, the UNPers will stand by him,” he added. MP Jayawardana was addressing a media briefing together with UNP Colombo District MP Hirunika Premachandra at Sirikotha.

MP Jayawardana further stated that MPs and Ministers in Government who support the No Confidence Motion (NCM) against the Prime Minister should rightfully leave coalition after April 4.

“Those who want to protect the government,the President and believe in the concept of Yahapalanaya and want to protect it, stand with us”

This is just not against the PM but against the whole government,he reiterated.

The NCM brought forward by the Joint Opposition sets down 17 points on which they believe that the Prime Minister has failed.This also includes allegations against him in the Bond issue.

Several senior SLFPers have stated that they cannot object to these points and that they would have to support the NCM.

MP Jayawardana however stressed that the SLFP has not officially made its stance known and that the President on Thursday night assured the Prime Minister that he had his full backing.

MP Hirunika Premachandra, in the meantime noted that the stance of the SLFP has been worrying in recent times,

“We got into a lot of trouble when establishing the Dehiwela- Mt Lavinia Municipal Council. We just managed to scrape through. The SLFP until the last minute promised to vote with us and then they voted against us and supported the SLPP,” she said.

“When I asked why the members did that, they said the General Secretary said one thing, the President another and UPFA secretary something else,” MP Premachandra said. “But we have always listened to the Prime Minister no matter our own opinions”, she said. MP Jayawardana however pointed out that the President would not destroy what he created.