Several parties have invited me

By Ajith Siriwardana  

Gampaha District parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake said yesterday several minor parties had offered to give him nomination to contest the next general election and that he was ready to join them if he was denied the ticket to contest under the UNP.  

“People like Sarath Manamendra and Susil Kidelpitiya invited me to join them and work with them. I will have to accept their offer, if I was denied nominations. However, the party has not officially announced the decision not to give me nominations,” he said.  

Mr. Ramanayake said party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had told him that some MPs had made requests to remove him from the party.  “However, he did not reveal the names of those who made the allegations against me. I doubt if one MP who came from the list in the Gampaha District is among them. The MPs who had lost their electorates and districts do not like my contesting. They know that I will top the list, if I contested,” he said. He made these comments after he sat for the GCE O/L English paper last morning where he said he wanted to obtain a credit pass for O/L English to qualify for Law Entrance examination.