Minister Harin Fernando said yesterday that if the leadership is not accepted by the people, it should undergo a change and the most suitable person for the United National Party today is Sajith Premadasa.

Addressing a news briefing at the Sports Ministry, he said he would not describe Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe as an incapable person but if the party supporters are in favour of Sajith Premadasa, he should be appointed as the presidential candidate.

Video by RM

When questions were asked by journalists there, Mr.Harin Fernando said: “ I see no other person than Sajith Premadasa who is more suitable as the presidential candidate and the leader of the party. He is so capable that he knows how to describe the 13,000 Grama Niladhari divisions in the country. I do not know even whether Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has that knowledge. A person like him, having such knowledge and memory power is essential for the country."

He said that we should not do what the leaders think if the party supporters are in need of a change, the leadership should listen to it. Therefore, both Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa should get together and arrive at a decision in this regard. He said that he has a right to talk about it as it was Harin Fernandos who rejuvenated the party when it was undergoing a bad patch.

The Minister expressed his views about the Ministry of Sports: “ Today many sportsmen think that the Ministry is a bank. The sportsmen who come close to the gate of my Ministry ask for tickets from me to go aboard. I am shocked by the way some ministers in the past had handled this Ministry. They have left the Ministry after spending money for nothing. He said that he has made arrangements to offer a big amount of money as gifts to the contestants who take part in the National Sports Festival to be held in Badulla.” (Namal Pathirage)