Sri Lanka Freedom Party Senior Deputy Chairman John Seneviratne refuted Dr. Rajitha Senaratne’s claim that the President informed the ‘six member committee’ appointed to unite the SLFP that Mahinda Rajapaksa will not be given nominations to contest the next general election.

Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya, Seneviratne said that the six member committee had not even met the President after its appointment.

The committee was appointed on Tuesday when SLFP MPs and organizers met at the Sri Lanka Foundation. It is comprised of John Seneviratne, Dilan Perera, Kumara Welgama, T. B. Ekanayake, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Susil Premajayantha.

Following the meeting on Tuesday, several SLFP leaders voiced their satisfaction at the outcome. Those who support former president Mahinda Rajapaksa defined it as the first step of their goal of bringing Rajapaksa to the Prime Minister’s post.

However, Rajitha Senaratne stormed out of the meeting on Tuesday, exploding at the journalists, asking them to obtain a comment from “the secretaries”. On Thursday at the weekly Cabinet meeting, he told the press that Rajapaksa will not be given nominations.