Saliya rejects President’s claims he had ambition to be PM

COLOMBO (Daily Mirror) - Former Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Saliya Pieris PC today rejected the claims by President  Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament that Pieris had ambitions to be Prime Minister prior to May 9, 2022.

Sharing a post on Facebook, Pieris said that the President had mentioned his name in Parliament and falsely claimed that he had ambitions to be Prime Minister.

Former BASL President said that President had made these false remarks under cover of Parliamentary immunity where he cannot be replied to.

"I am compelled to say that unlike politicians of his ilk, I have never placed personal ambitions above the needs of the country. I have never sacrificed my principles for personal gain or for the greed of office", Pieris said in his facebook post.

"The BASL proposals made in May 2022 were never about individuals. They were made after careful thought by its Executive Committee and approved by the Bar Council. The legal community made these proposals with the intention of proposing a solution to Sri Lanka’s political and governance crisis with the interests of Sri Lanka and its people in mind," the statement further added.