•  Says he is not friends with Ranil   
• We are opponents in a political battle  
• Ranil challenges AKD on export growth without FTAs 
• Sajith adds fuel to the fire  

By JAMILA HUSAIN  

National People’s Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura  Kumara Dissanayake scotched speculation that he is having a secret deal  with President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is contesting the election as an  independent candidate.  
Making his remarks to Daily Mirror, Dissanayake said if he  was in any secret deal with Wickremesinghe as alleged by several  politicians, to form a government with him or work alongside him, then  the two would not be contesting against each other as Presidential  candidates.  
“In fact, I see a deal between Wickremesinghe and Sajith  Premadasa where both have united to defeat me. Wickremesinghe keeps  addressing me as ‘his friend’. We are not friends, but we are competitors  in a political battle,” Dissanayake said.  
The NPP Leader further said that he had not met  Wickremesinghe in recent times and remained focused on his campaign to  win the Presidential Election. He said both the Wickremesinghe and SJB  camps were spreading rumours that the President was in a secret deal with  him only to gain more votes for themselves.  
Dissanayake further said that he was also not ready to work  with the SLPPers who were now with Wickremesinghe, as some of these MPs  were rejected by the people with allegations of corruption. “How can I  work with such people?” Dissanayake said.  
A verbal spat has broken out between Wickremesinghe and  Dissanayake in recent times where Wickremesinghe posed questions at  Dissanayake. He asked how Dissanayake could boost exports by doing  away with Free Trade Agreements as announced in the NPP manifesto.   
“In his manifesto, my friend Anura Kumara Dissanayake has  pledged to do away with the FTA. At the same time, he pledged to boost  exports. How can exports be promoted sans FTAs. He did not answer my  question. I later learnt that he was unwell. I wish him a speedy recovery,”  Wickremesinghe said.   
SJB presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa, in his  election rallies, added fuel to the fire, saying that Wickremesinghe and  Dissanayake were operating covertly to stand in the way of him.