Did not apply for post of PM: Sajith responds to Ranil

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, responding to a statement made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe about a letter the former had written to ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he did not apply for the post of prime minister as claimed by Wickremesinghe. 

Instead, Premadasa said, the former president had repeatedly requested him to accept the post of prime minister and in response, he had put forward four conditions if an interim short-term Government was to be established. 

Accordingly, Premadasa said he had put forward the following conditions; the president must resign from his position during a stipulated minimum period of time, implement and enact the 19th constitutional amendment within a period of two weeks with the support of all political parties, implement the provisions in the Constitution within a minimum time period to abolish the executive presidency and call for a parliamentary election to allow the public to form a permanent Government after implementing the constitutional amendments and rebuilding the community life and ensuring the rule of law. 

Admitting he had written to the former president, he said it was to put forward these conditions and he had not requested to be appointed as prime minister. 

On Thursday, Wickremesinghe in parliament had said Premadasa had written to Rajapaksa on 12 May. He said unlike Premadasa, he had not written to anyone asking to be appointed as president. 

Wickremesinghe requested the letter written by Premadasa be included in full in the parliamentary Hansard.