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Ranil-Maithri combo set to be reunited?

29 Jul 2022

  • Discuss all party Govt, another meeting in 2 weeks 
  • Sirisena says Ranil positive towards SLFP proposals  
BY Buddhika Samaraweera A discussion between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) representatives, led by SLFP Chairman and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) “independent” MP Maithripala Sirisena, was held yesterday (28) at the Ministry of Finance regarding the formation of an all-party Government. Speaking to the media after the discussion, Sirisena said: “We met Wickremesinghe to brief him on the proposals presented by the SLFP regarding an all-party Government. These are the same proposals that we presented to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. We informed Wickremesinghe that we would continue to advocate for these proposals. Accordingly, the President said that he would meet us again in two weeks to discuss this further.” Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister for virtually the entire tenure of Sirisena as President between 2015 and 2019, although the two rarely saw eye to eye, leading to commentators and Government insiders complaining of a dysfunctional leadership. During the discussion, Sirisena said that the SLFP had suggested to Wickremesinghe that while measures should be taken to solve the issues such as fuel and gas shortages in the country, a programme should be launched on the spiritual side with the support of the respective religious leaders in order to address the restlessness and impulsiveness of the people. When questioned as to whether there was a positive response from the President regarding the proposals of the SLFP, he said: “For now, there seems to be something positive. He mentioned that he hopes to implement these suggestions. That is why he said that he hopes to meet us again in two weeks.” Noting that he could not express a definite opinion on whether an all-party Government would be formed in the future, Sirisena, who is also a former President, said that the primary responsibility in that regard rests with Wickremesinghe and the Government. He mentioned that they should prepare the related programmes and invite other political parties to join it. He further said that it is also important to form an all-party Government in the process of getting international aid and other support. However, shortly before the meeting with the President, Sirisena, who was speaking to the media at the SLFP headquarters, said that there is not even a hint that the Government is keen on the formation of an all-party Government as expected by the SLFP.  “We are not seeing that the Government is moving as expected by the SLFP. In particular, the fuel queues are getting longer and longer, not shorter. The food crisis, the shortage of drugs, and the economic hardships for the people remain the same. It is not clear as to what the current Government is going to do? We don't see a plan for the formation of an all party Government, or even a hint of such,” he said. He further mentioned that after the appointment of the current President, the same Cabinet of Ministers as before, has been reactivated. In this situation, he said that Wickremesinghe has given time to discuss the proposals presented by the SLFP regarding the formation of an all-party Government. The meeting between Wickremesinghe and Sirisena at the Finance Ministry in Colombo was attended by several MPs representing the SLFP. Following the resignation of former President Rajapaksa due to the massive public protests that demanded the same, Wickremesinghe was appointed as the President through a Parliamentary vote. The newly appointed President appointed an 18-member Cabinet of Ministers on 22 July. There are also reports that several MPs are to be appointed as Deputy and State Ministers in the coming days, while there are talks about the formation of an all-party Government. Commenting to The Morning on an earlier occasion, SLFP Senior Vice President Prof. Rohana Luxman Piyadasa stated that if an invitation is received for the formation of an all-party interim Government, the party would consider supporting it on the basis of the Government’s programme for the resolution of the prevailing crisis situation, and the holding of elections within a definite time period.  


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