Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has revealed that the decision to allocate the official residence in Wijerama to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was made during a meeting attended by key figures of the Yahapalana government, including current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
During a special discussion among opposition party leaders, Wickremesinghe stated that the decision was approved in a meeting attended by former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and himself. He emphasized that the government is legally obligated to provide official residences to former presidents.
The meeting was attended by several prominent political figures, including Vajira Abeywardena, Sagala Ratnayake, Udaya Gammanpila, Mano Ganesan, P. Digambaram, Susil Premajayantha, Nimal Siripala, Kanchana Wijesekera, Sugeeshwara Bandara, and Premanath Dolawatta, along with a group of MPs and party leaders.
Wickremesinghe asserted that the decision to grant Mahinda Rajapaksa the Wijerama residence was lawful and had been approved by a government that included Anura Kumara Dissanayake. His remarks come amid ongoing debates regarding the allocation of official residences for former heads of state.
