Former President Maithripala Sirisena has challenged MP Dayasiri Jayasekara to reveal any agreements made by a group, including Jayasekara, concerning their political alignments.
In a statement, Sirisena condemned Jayasekara’s recent remarks, which criticized the current state of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Sirisena’s role in the party’s crisis. Sirisena asserted that Jayasekara’s comments were a distortion of the truth.
Sirisena clarified that the decision to nominate Dr. Vijayadasa Rajapaksa as the SLFP’s presidential candidate was made unanimously by the party’s executive council. He also refuted Jayasekara’s claim that Rajapaksa was not a party member, stating that Rajapaksa was constitutionally granted party membership before being appointed as Acting Chairman.
Sirisena accused factions within the party of attempting to “auction” the SLFP to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and others of planning to betray the party by aligning with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya for personal political gain.
The former President’s comments follow Jayasekara’s announcement that he and his group plan to join the Samagi Jana Balawegaya on August 8th. Sirisena’s challenge seeks to clarify these political maneuvers and defend his role in the SLFP’s decisions.
