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Ranil plans to turn UNP’s convention into unity show
View(s):- Party to remove suspension of SJB members, all opposition party leaders, including Sajith, invited for Sept. 6 event
By our Political Desk
Former President and United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that opposition party leaders have been invited to attend the party’s September 6 (Saturday) annual convention, where they are to discuss the current political situation in the country.
Speaking on his return home from a stint in hospital after his arrest, remand and later bail, he told the Sunday Times that as a first step in ‘opposition unity’, the UNP would remove the suspension order against all its party members who left and joined the breakaway Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) led by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.
Mr. Wickremesinghe will make his first public appearance after his temporary incarceration last weekend and make a special statement during the party sessions, UNP sources said.
The UNP has also chosen to shift the venue of the convention from its headquarters, Sirikotha, at Kotte to a neutral location so as to make it more agreeable for opposition party members to attend it.
The past few days have seen a thawing of relations between Mr. Wickremesinghe and Mr. Premadasa after their acrimonious split in 2020, following which the SJB was launched. Mr. Premadasa, along with several SJB members, visited Mr. Wickremesinghe at the Prison Hospital as well as the National Hospital during the time the former president was warded.
SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that an invitation was received for the party to attend the UNP convention, and it was likely that Mr. Premadasa would attend along with other party members.
He said that in spite of past differences, there was no obstacle for the two sides working together.
Former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena too have been invited for the convention, UNP sources said.
In the aftermath of Mr. Wickremesinghe’s arrest, several opposition politicians, including former President Sirisena, held a media conference under the theme “Let’s defeat the constitutional dictatorship.”
This will be the focus of the opposition’s campaign in the coming months.
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