Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has no interest in returning to Parliament, former Minister Rajitha Senaratne said, claiming Wickremesinghe personally conveyed this to him.

Senaratne made the remarks at a media briefing held on 26 December.

However, he said Wickremesinghe may reconsider such a decision if the current government collapses and the country faces a critical need. In such circumstances, Wickremesinghe would be prepared to return to Parliament and assist the country, similar to the role he played during the previous crisis, Senaratne said.

Elaborating further, Senaratne said Wickremesinghe has clearly stated that he has no desire to enter the present Parliament, noting that entering Parliament would only make sense if meaningful work could be done. He had also questioned how effective such work could be with the current political composition, Senaratne added.

“Ranil has told me directly that he has no interest in coming to this Parliament. He said that if he comes, it should be to do proper work, and he does not see how that can be done with the current group,” Senaratne said.

He added that Wickremesinghe has indicated he has already reached the highest office by serving as President and has no further positions to seek. Nevertheless, if the country requires his assistance, he would be willing to step in and help, as he did previously, purely in the national interest.

Senaratne also claimed that public sentiment towards Wickremesinghe has been increasingly sympathetic. According to him, people frequently say that the current situation would not have arisen had Wickremesinghe remained in office, and that the country would have been in a far better position.

He further said that survey findings from several areas indicate growing public dissatisfaction with the government, with respondents expressing regret over past decisions and noting a significant loss of public confidence in the current administration.