17 April 2019 11:03 am
Democratic Left Front (DLF) Leader and MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara yesterday said it appeared that former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ready for a transformation.
The MP expressed these views to Daily Mirror after meeting with Mr. Rajapaksa at the Eliya Organisation office in Colombo yesterday.
Eleven members of the DLF Executive Council including MP Nanayakkara took part in the meeting to discuss about DLF’s policies and upcoming presidential election.
“We told him about our party’s stance on multiple aspects including the party's socio economic programme. A copy of our policies was given to him and in turn we listened to what he had to say. It was hinted at, and I believe that he took part in the meeting in the capacity of a possible candidate for the upcoming presidential election. From what we gathered, it appeared that he is ready for a transformation. He said he was not familiar with politics and that he has to get familiarised with it,” the MP said.
When asked if the DLF has made a decision on backing Mr. Rajapaksa as a presidential candidate, MP Nanayakkara said they are still open for options and no decision had been made yet.
“The executive council will meet and will go through what was discussed at the meeting and then will arrive at a decision. We are still open for anything and no final decision was taken yet on supporting him at a presidential election. We took part in the meeting to get an understanding and to inform him about our stance,” he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla)