15 June 2023 09:40 am Views - 130
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has raised concerns with President Ranil Wickremesinghe over a meeting convened with SLPP district leaders on Monday saying that the party leaders were not informed of such a move and if the President intends to call for such meetings, then the party has to be consulted first.
Senior sources told Daily Mirror that all SLPP district leaders were convened for a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on Monday without the knowledge of the SLPP leaders and once the party learnt of the meeting, they had informed the district leaders not to attend.
Sources said that the district leaders were invited for the meeting by the ‘special projects’ unit at the Presidential Secretariat which is headed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s former private secretary Sugeeswara Bandara. SLPP sources further said that SLPP MPs Prasanna Ranatunga, Nimal Lanza and Mahindananda Aluthgamage were the only MPs who were aware of this meeting while the senior leaders were left clueless.
However, once the party seniors learnt of the meeting, they informed the district leaders not to attend but informed the SLPP Ministers and state ministers that they should attend it as it was a meeting held with the President. However, a senior party official said that the Presidential Secretariat could not call for meetings with the SLPP district leaders without the consent of the party and said this resulted in meddling in the internal affairs of the party.
The Daily Mirror learns that only one district leader from Trincomalee attended the meeting along with the ministers and state ministers.
Following the meeting, serious concerns were raised with the President over this matter and while the SLPP reiterated that they would continue to support Wickremesinghe, the President should consult the party first before convening such meetings with party officials in the future.