UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake has said the proposal to appoint Hambanthota District Parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa will be presented to the Working Committee of the party on September 23, just three days after the Uva Provincial Council election.

However, the party has not yet arrived at a final decision on conditions put forward by Premadasa – namely the abolition of the Leadership Council, 10 working committee slots for Premadasa’s nominees and handing over administrative powers of the UNP headquarters ‘Sirikotha’.

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Preamadasa’s conditions have come under severe criticism from seniors of the party on the grounds that they are “unjust” and “unfair”.

However, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake remains a strong supporter of Preamadasa. It is an interesting shift in allegiance as, a few months ago, attanayake was severely criticized by the Premadasa faction for being inefficient in discharging his duties as the General Secretary of the party. At that point, Attanayake was viewed as a staunch Wickremesinghe loyalist.

Meanwhile, Matara District UNP Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera issued a statement on Friday night and countered what he termed as a “vitriolic” statement issued by Premadasa on Thursday.

Samaraweera said Premadasa had launched a scathing attack on him for “challenging” the latter’s conduct at a press conference that was held on Wednesday. Addressing the press conference, Samaraweera, who was back in town after a brief trip to London, said one should match one’s words with deeds and it was clear that he was alluding to Premadasa.