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President’s efforts come a cropper
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's efforts to have the Sri Lanka Freedom Party's Central Committee exert pressure on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse to reverse his decision to do away with the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure and his commitment to a unitary state came a cropper on Friday.

Instead the Central Committee, with Ms Kumaratunga in the chair, appointed a nine-member Committee headed by Premier Rajapakse to "co-ordinate with all parties supporting him at the upcoming presidential elections and carry out its campaign".

The nine member committee chaired by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, picked by the SLFP Central Committee on Friday, will draw up the party's manifesto for November 17 Presidential elections, General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena told The Sunday Times.

He said no other official committee had been named for formulation of the manifesto or for any other purpose either by the Central Committee or the party leadership.

According to an official announcement, other members of the Committee are Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Maithripala Sirisena, Nimal Siripala de Silva, W.D.J. Seneviratne, Susil Premajayantha, Reginold Cooray, Alavi Mowlana and Reggie Ranatunga.

“This is the only committee named at Friday’s meeting,” Justice Minister W. D. J. Seneviratne, a member of the committee, also told The Sunday Times.
He said besides the committee chaired by Premier Rajapakse, no other committees were formed at Friday’s meeting.

An official SLFP statement on Friday night said the main purpose of the committee was to co-ordinate with all parties supporting Mr. Rajapakse and work in a manner in which the SLFP's policies and identity are protected.
This is whilst respecting other parties supporting Mr. Rajapakse.

A Prime Ministerial source said Mr. Rajapakse did not plan to change the commitment he had made. The committee has also been tasked to make arrangements for public rallies at the provincial level at which President Kumaratunga will take part.

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