Sri Lanka’s Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has agreed to confirm Kurunegala district parliamentarian and leader of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Opposition leader temporarily resolving the conflict over the opposition leader post.
The Speaker has agreed to this decision during the meeting of party leaders held Thursday (04) held at the Parliament complex. The Speaker has also agreed to assign the office of the Opposition Leader to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Any issues relating to the Rajapaksa’s membership in Sri Lanka Podujana Party are to be sorted out through the judicial process.
United National Front leaders Ministers Lakshman Kiriella, Mano Ganesan, Gayantha Karunatilaka, Rauff Hakeem, and opposition party leaders Parliamentarians Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dinesh Gunawardena, Mahinda Amaraweera and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake joined the party leaders’ meeting Thursday.
However, it has been reported that MPs representing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have not attended the meeting.
When the parliament convened for the first time on December 18 after the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was reinstated as the Prime Minister, the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) nominated Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Opposition Leader post replacing Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
