By

Ifham Nizam

At yesterday’s ceremony in UNP headquarters, Sirikotha to welcome Opposition Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena took an unexpected turn with UNP General Tissa Attanayake striking a discordant note. He said if one thought the party could make any headway without its colour or symbol or candidate at an election, one was sadly mistaken.

A visibly resentful Attanayake said the real UNPers had been shortchanged at all levels of the party and he, too, had not been spared.

He was ready to give up the post of General Secretary any time he declared, stressing that the interests of UNPers had to take precedence over everyone else’s. He told Sirisena that the UNP should not be taken lightly.

Attanayake is one of the UNP seniors who wanted to field a UNP presidential candidate.

Deputy Leader of the UNP, Sajith Premadasa, said whoever entered the presidential fray it was the UNP supporters who had to bear the brunt of the campaign and their interests had to be looked after. ‘Our dream is to have a President from the UNP elected—a Green President.”

UNP leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said he was happy that a person from Polonnaruwa had been nominated as the Opposition Common Candidate. Like ancient Kings such as Vijayabahu and Parakramabahu the Great, UNP leaders including D. S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake and J. R. Jayewardena had developed that area, he added.

Courtesy:The Island