Rajapaksa meets Rajapakshe but no breakthrough

Parliamentarian Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe who crossed over to the opposition on Wednesday and put forward seven demands to support the government at the vote on the Budget met President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday, but no settlement has been reached.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe	Mahinda Ratnathilake

The Sunday Times learns Mr. Rajapakshe who also heads the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), had stuck to his demands which included the dismissal of two ministers who had been implicated in COPE findings and the reduction of the size of the Cabinet.

A President’s Office spokesman confirmed the meeting between the President and Mr. Rajapakshe, but declined to give details. Meanwhile, UNP parliamentarian Palitha Ranga Bandara said he and MP Laksman Seneviratne yesterday met Ratnapura district parliamentarian Mahinda Ratnathilake who defected to the government on Thursday.

He said Mr. Ratnathilake had been under the protection of about 15 PSD personnel at a Colombo five-star hotel where they saw the MP who, according to them, hadn’t revealed his location until they found it out themselves.