Prez won’t ask PM to step down

By Saman Indrajith

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday told Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs that he had not asked Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign.

He added that he would not ask PM Rajapaksa to resign.

The meeting took between 5 and 7.30 pm and former minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi asked the President about the proposed interim government.

“Why are we talking about an interim government, when we already have a government? There are rumours that you have asked the Prime Minister to resign, is that true?” she asked.

The President said he had not asked the PM to resign and that he had not forgotten that Mahinda was his elder brother.

The MPs also agreed not to use the term ‘interim government’ in the future.

Meanwhile, representatives of the 11 political parties that sit independently in Parliament have agreed to attend the meeting convened by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today (29) on some conditions.

The MPs have decided only to meet the President without the participation of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers.

Speaking to journalists following the discussion, MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara said the no-confidence motion would moved if the Prime Minister did not step down.