SLFP General Secretary and Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena yesterday told media that he was ready to accept the post of Prime Minister, if he was offered the position by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

 

He made these remarks when he was questioned by a journalist over the proposal presented by some members of the party to appoint Minister Sirisena as the Prime Minister, replacing Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne. 

 

{module LOLC}

 

“I am not aware of any such proposal. It was not presented or endorsed with my knowledge. So I cannot comment on that. I do not have any personal ‘opinion’ on the matter. If the President wants me to become the Prime Minister, I am ready to accept that position,’ Sirisena said addressing reporters in Colombo yesterday. 

 

It was in the grapevine among political circles that several senior members of the ruling party have requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to appoint SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena as the Prime Minister, replacing D.M. Jayaratne, before the next Presidential election.

 

The development came in the wake of the reports that Minister Maithripala Sirisena had sent a letter to the President urging him to refrain from holding presidential election two years before the end of his second term.

 

Those who back Minister Maithripala Sirisena’s candidacy to the post of Prime Minister had stated that the ruling party should have a strong “second-in-command” to face the pressure exerted by the opposition. They were of the view that the move would place the ruling party in an advantageous position ahead of a national level election.