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No document handed over to PM at yesterday’s meeting – Chandima

Tuesday August 20, 2019 3:36 pm

Denying reports that United National Party (UNP) leader Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe received a letter signed by a majority of his MPs yesterday, backbencher UNP MP Chandima Gamage said Wickremesinghe and presidential hopeful UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa will work together in the run-up to the upcoming presidential election.

The MP said he did not witness a document being handed over to the party leader at the UNP Parliamentary group meeting held yesterday (19), referring to reports that two-third of its MPs had presented a letter to Wickremesinghe urging the party’s Working Committee and Parliamentary group to make a decision on the party’s presidential candidate next week.

Gamage claimed that he was present throughout the duration of the meeting but he did not see nor sign such a document.

“I was present from 3.30pm till the end of the meeting. When I came to the meeting, there were me and two others. Once the meeting ended, I lingered a while since I had something to discuss with the Prime Minister. But I saw no such document behing handed over to him,” he said.

Asked whether there is a clash between the party leader and the deputy leader, Gamage said that there are no clashes with anyone, only different opinions.

“There is no conflict in the party. We will present a presidential candidate in the near future and the two leaders will work together in a Ranil-Sajith combination in the coming days. We previously presented a candidate within 45 days and our candidate won the election,” the MP added.

FILED UNDER: Chandima Gamage,conflict in unp,presidential candidate,presidential elections,Ranil Wickremesinghe,Sajith Premadasa,temple trees,UNP,unp working committee

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State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake was also in the meeting.

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