Wickremasinghe appeals to dissidents to rejoin UNP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 December 2008, 19:32 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Saturday made an appeal to the dissident group of seventeen parliamentarians of the UNP to rejoin the party, political sources in Colombo said. Mr. Wickremasinghe made this appeal when addressing the 58th annual convention of the UNP in Dehiwela.

The dissident UNP (Democratic Group) is led by Mr.Karu Jayasuriya. He and his fellow parliamentarians have been holding ministerial portfolios in the UPFA government led by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Wickremasinghe’s appeal has raised speculation in political circles in Colombo as the parliament is scheduled to meet on December 8 Monday to vote on the third reading of the budget of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government.

Meanwhile, Rukman Senanayake, Tissa Attanayake, and D.M.Swaminathan have been reelected as Chairman, General Secretary and Treasurer respectively at the annual convention of the UNP.