Plantation Minister and Senior SLFPer D.M. Jayaratne, who strongly believes he should be Sri Lanka’s next Prime Minister, said he had already tailored a dress for the important occasion.

“I keep looking at the dress that hangs in my wardrobe and visualize myself as Prime Minister. The kit was sown by a Buddhist monk who also blesses me,” the minister said.

Minister Jayaratne expressed these sentiments when he met several journalists at the Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex on Sunday.

He said he had been a SLFPer for more than 58 years, and today he was the most senior living member of the party.

“I lost this opportunity several times. Even Presidents like J.R. Jayewardene and R. Premadasa offered me this post, but I never crossed over. Even Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike told President Chandrika Kumaratunga to appoint me as Prime Minister but she ignored her advice,” the disappointed Minister said.