29 January 2020 12:01 am
By Yohan Perera
Ranil Wickremesinghe should continue to function as a senior adviser even if Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa was appointed as UNP leader, MP Thalatha Athukorala said yesterday.
She told a news conference that Mr. Premadasa should be handed over the UNP leadership as it was demanded by 90 per cent of the party members.
“There is no issue in handing over the party leadership to Mr. Premadasa as he became the party’s presidential candidate on a unanimous choice of the party members,” the MP said and asked why everyone was talking of a crisis in the UNP when there was a crisis brewing within the government. She said Mr. Premadasa would be finally appointed as the new leader of the UNP but it should not be delayed like what happened at the presidential election. The MP said the present government had failed to keep its promises. “One can only see several other issues such as the disclosure of phone conversations recorded by MP Ranjan Ramanayake. UNP MP Harshana Rajakaruna told the news conference that Sri Lanka should follow the other countries and take drastic measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. He said flights that come from vulnerable areas should be stopped temporarily just done by several other countries.