In a surprise move, veteran Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Somawansa Amarasinghe announced on Thursday (16) that he was resigning from the party.

Speaking at a press conference in Pelawatta, Battaramulla, he criticized the JVP and said that he was planning to form a new party. He slammed the JVP leadership, saying that the party is intentionally delaying the process of building socialism in the country.

Amarasinghe, a past pupil of Kalutara Vidyalaya, joined the JVP in 1969. On April 5, 1971, at the outbreak of the first JVP insurrection, Amarasinghe was assigned the dangerous task of capturing the then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. After the attempt failed, he was captured. In 1974, he was sentenced for two years in prison.

Amarasinghe became a Politburo Member of the JVP in 1984. Out of 14 members, he was the only Politburo Member who survived the Second JVP insurrection (1987-89). He fled the country and led the party from exile for a number of years.

Amarasinghe briefly returned to the country in 2001 but left on December 5, 2001, on the day the General Election was held. He returned in 2004. Amarasinghe continued to lead the party until February 2, 2014, when he handed over the leadership to Anura Kumara Dissanayake.