As part of the series of steps to get the entirety of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to join the proposed National Government, President Maithripala Sirisena is likely to meet his rival, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, sources close to Sirisena told Express on Saturday.

 

“President Sirisena does not want the SLFP to be split, hence the talks with Rajapaksa. If the SLFP joins the National Government, the position of the Leader of Opposition goes to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The President has no objection to this. It will be racist to deny the TNA this position,” the source said.

 

To smoothen the path to a reconciliation, Sirisena had invited Rajapaksa to Friday’s ceremony to swear-in Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) had beaten the Rajapaksa-led UPFA in the August 17 parliamentary elections.

 

Both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe received Rajapaksa cordially. But ignored by his own partymen, Rajapaksa did not stay for tea.

 

SLFP-UNP MoU

 

On Friday, the SLFP and the United National Party (UNP), which is the main constituent of the UNFGG, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) spelling out nine basic areas of cooperation to enable the proposed National Government to function smoothly.

 

The two parties envisaged continuation of the anti-corruption drive; legal measures to prevent defection of MPs from one party to another; and steps to ensure continuation of the freedoms given to the people following the ouster of the authoritarian Rajapaksa regime.

 

Sirisena Continues Purge

 

However, while holding the olive branch to the Rajapaksa faction, Sirisena has sacked Rajapaksa loyalists Kumara Welgama, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, S.M.Chandrasena and T.B.Ekanayake  from the Executive Committee of the UPFA.

 

Sirisena has also managed to include his followers in the National List of UPFA MPs (a category filled by nominations). Five of Sirisena loyalists who were defeated in the August 17 polls have been included in the list of 12.

 

UPFA Rebels

 

Most of the UPFA MPs are likely to support a National Government. But a small section comprising the non-SLFP parties have said that they have no mandate to support it.

(The New Indian Express)