Opposition Leader’s pledge to grant deputy premiership to Mangala

Long-standing UNPers lose faith in UNP:

Sanjaya Asela Maturata

COLOMBO: Long-standing UNP supporters have lost faith in UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe over his pledge to grant the deputy premiership to Mangala Samaraweera in a future government in terms of the MoU signed with the SLFP (‘M’) faction, said former Justice Deputy Minister of the UNP Government Shelton Ranaraja. Ranaraja who was Justice Deputy Minister from 1977 to 1988 in the J. R. Jayewardene Government in an interview with the Daily News was greatly puzzled by the Ranil-Mangala tie up.

The UNP leadership had taken people who caused damage to the party to their confidence, he would not approve of it.

The UNP leadership had neglected experienced party old timers and heavy weights in granting higher positions in the Party today. He said pole vaulters had been given preference in granting high positions in the Party today. Granting the National Organiser post to S. B. Dissanayake and Media spokesman post to Lakshman Kiriella are two such examples, he said.

Ranaraja refusing to the 1964 December Throne Speech in Parliament said he and Stanley Molligoda voted against it then purely as a matter of policy.