by Sahan Tennekoon in The Morning, Apr 17, 2023
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary MP Ranjith Maddumabandara yesterday (16) said that the SJB has not received any invitation so far to enter into an alliance with the United National Party (UNP).
He said this when he was contacted by The Daily Morning to inquire about a Twitter message of Leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Mano Ganesan that attempts to form an alliance between the UNP and SJB ended in failure.
“We have not received an invitation for such an alliance. We should be invited not by Mano Ganesan who is also a SJB MP, but by the UNP. Because we have no intention to form such an alliance with any party. Therefore, our party does not intend to invite another party. But if the UNP has such an idea, they should invite us. We have not yet decided as a party about forming a coalition with the UNP because we have not received such an invitation,” he said.
Maddumabandara further said that there are many false rumours circulating about this alliance and the SJB does not hope to respond to those stories.
“This kind of propaganda has been circulating for some time. Similar things have been circulated in relation to Mano Ganesan and Rauff Hakeem, but we cannot take a decision as to whether we go for the discussions or not until we receive a proper invitation. To form an alliance with the UNP, there must be a good understanding between the two parties. The first thing to do is to build that understanding,” he said.
When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday, UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said that their party has not taken a final decision on forming an alliance with the SJB and they have no barrier to working together if they (SJB) intend to.
Recently, Mano Ganesan had confirmed that he had initiated a discussion to bring the UNP and SJB under one umbrella. Media reports surfaced earlier this week that Mano Ganesan and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem had initiated talks with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in an effort to unite the UNP and the SJB.
https://www.themorning.lk/articles/1UGguUUVZAG9Whc0o7Ls
