ECONOMYNEXT – Rumblings of discontent with within Sri Lanka’s main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya to a head, with information coming out that senior parliamentarian Harsha de Silva being denied Colombo district leadership, party officials said.
“I was not given the leadership,” de Silva told reporters who crowded around his car after a party meeting Friday.
“There is a no disappointment. This is not something that one can get by pressuring or crying. The leader has kept the position in addition to the national leadership.”
Pressed by reporters, de Silva admitted that he was the most senior parliamentarian in the Colombo district.
There is rising unhappiness about the move among SJB seniors, one party official said.
“It was very unfair,” the official said adding that it was not the normal practice for the party leader to take the district leadership as well.
There may be some actions by some party seniors in the coming days in protest over the move, a party source said.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa denied there was a crisis in the party over the denial of district leadership to de Silva.
“There is no such problem,” Premadasa told questioning reporters. ‘I know you are looking for a headline. There is no crisis.”
The move comes as there are attempts by representatives of the SJB and United National Party to bring the two parties together.
De Silva said he was not appointed to the committee involved in dealing with the United National Party.
“As far as I know some discussions have taken place, but after that it does not seem to be taking place. The truth is that the origins of us all is within the UNP,” he said.
“So, at the ground level there is a feeling that policy level unification should happen.
“But how to do that has to be decided by the two leaders. For that Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa has a real need it can be done.
“There is a problem with personalities. We have to say that Some in that side do not want to with our side. Some in our side do not want to work with some on that side.
“We (SJB) also took people from the SLPP. That was a big mix-up that happened to us. We have to built a clean group and go forward.
Around the last election, at least two party seniors stepped down from their posts, in protest over appointing SLPP cross-overs to party positions over their head. (Colombo/Feb14/2025)
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