Leadership changes will occur at right time: Mayantha

Those eyeing the United National Party (UNP) leadership should be patient because they will be able to secure it at the appropriate time, MP Mayantha Dissanayake said today.

He said this when responding to a question asked by journalists at a news conference with regard to the future of the UNP and recalled that they should learn a lesson from his father, the late Gamini Dissanayake.

“I sometimes feel sad about my father who formed a new party after a conflict which arose with regard to party leadership. He had to form another party together with the late Lalith Athulathmudali,” the MP said.

He said the signals coming from the grassroots level is that the UNP should change and should come up with new leadership. “Change of leadership is not just changing one individual and replacing him with another. What I mean by leadership is a group of people, not just one individual,” he said adding that the party should be handled by a group of people.

The MP said, in any case, the UNP leadership would be changed before or after the general election.

He said he was saddened by the decision by party members such as MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara who had resigned from the UNP reforms committee appointed by leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. (By Yohan Perera)

(Pic by Pradeep Pathirana)