Ranil’s Private Trip to India Framed as an Official Visit
Ranil’s Political Moves Raise Suspicions
Cylinder and SJB Jostle Over National List Seats
SJB’s Internal Discord Blamed for Electoral Defeat
Sajith Urged to Show Stronger Leadership for Party’s Future
Newcomer sits in the opposition leader’s seat
Ranil’s Trip to India
A report published last week by Lankadeepa, the newspaper owned by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s cousin, Ruwan Wijewardena, revealed that Wickremesinghe is scheduled to visit India. During his trip, he is set to deliver a lecture at the Sri Sathya Sri Vidya Vihar higher education institute in Madhya Pradesh. The report further noted that he is also expected to meet senior officials of the Indian government during this visit.
The motives behind Lankadeepa publishing such stories about Ranil’s activities have raised questions. Throughout his political career, Ranil has consistently portrayed himself as the only Sri Lankan leader with genuine international connections. Observers suggest that this trip was strategically planned to precede the first official overseas visit of newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to India. Following his party’s defeat in the general elections, Ranil appears to have orchestrated this visit to demonstrate that he was invited to India and engaged in discussions with Indian officials before the new president.
Although this is a private visit, Ranil seems to be presenting it to the public as an official engagement. His itinerary spans from the 30th to the 9th, during which he will be accompanied by his wife, Maithree Wickremesinghe, and plans to visit historical sites and wildlife sanctuaries in India.
This is not the first time Ranil has been accused of manipulating narratives through Lankadeepa. Over his 50-year political career, critics allege that whenever faced with unfavourable political circumstances, he has used his family-owned media outlets to divert public attention by publishing misleading stories. According to insiders, he continues to rely on a small, dedicated group within Lankadeepa to propagate such narratives. However, the public has grown increasingly sceptical of these tactics, as evidenced by the resounding rejection of UNP candidates in consecutive elections.
Any former head would get it
It is worth noting that any former president visiting a foreign country typically receives support from provincial or regional governments. While governments often accommodate such requests, some senior officials or ministers may initially refuse. In Ranil’s case, he appears to have strategically requested meetings with officials more likely to agree, aiming to secure photo opportunities. These images are then used to bolster his public image, often appearing in Lankadeepa or related media. Critics argue that such staged efforts are emblematic of his current political strategy, which relies heavily on manufactured narratives.
Anura to India
President Anura Kumara’s first overseas trip is scheduled to India in the second week of December. However Inside Politics column previously reported that in a special discloser of his first visit, the president would select a Middle Eastern country or India. The reason for this we indicated that the government is contemplating with three Middle Eastern countries to purchase fuel at a concession rate. We mentioned a renowned Sri Lankan professor domiciled in the United States is the intermediary for such talks and the dialogues are on the verge of conclusion. Based on this president would visit to ink the final agreement with these countries we indicated, also we said if this gets delayed he would stick to the tradition and visit India.
However, the President’s Indian visit is a very decisive one from the Sri Lankan perspective. The reason behind this is the entire international community is observing this visit very closely. The main issue the president faces at this instant is the agreements which were already signed by the former president with India. Especially during Ranil’s tenure he gave Trincomalee oil tanks to India. He entrusted Adani India to construct a renewable energy plant in Mannar. Furthermore, the west terminal in the Colombo port is being constructed by Adani India.
With the victory of the presidential election, the President said the need has arisen to revisit all these agreements. He further said no one could be allowed to have a monopoly in Sri Lanka’s power sector. The reason for the president to opine thus may be due to the advice given to him to indicate his stance about India before he embarks on the Indian visit. However many of the opinion by venting his opinion before his visit is an indication that during his visit this could be a very vital topic of discussion in the discussion table on Indian investments.
India has a close attention to the Indian Ocean regional security for a long period. India does not tolerate Chinese influence within the Indian Ocean region. In the recent past, India expressed its displeasure and objections to Sri Lanka for its closeness with China and for allowing Chinese warships and research ships to enter the Indian Ocean region. Such objections from India have been openly raised with Sri Lanka on many occasions since 2015, and this has reached magnitudes such as change of governments in Sri Lanka. Due to this reason, former president Ranil Wickramasinghe suspended Chinese ships entering Sri Lankan seas up to December 2024.
It is expected during the President’s Indian visit Chinese topic would take a central place in the discussions.
Vijitha’s Gaffe: A Diplomatic Misstep
The anticipation surrounding the Sri Lankan President’s upcoming visit to India took an unexpected turn last week due to a misstep by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. Shortly after being sworn in, Herath, during a media briefing, prematurely revealed that the President planned to visit India in December. This disclosure came before an official announcement was made by either government, raising eyebrows in diplomatic circles.
India reportedly found this breach of protocol disconcerting. Typically, the formal announcement of a head of state’s visit follows meticulous discussions between both parties. Dates and details are finalized only after thorough consultations, and announcements are carefully timed and coordinated. Vijitha’s premature statement was picked up by the Indian media, creating discomfort within the Indian government and sparking unwarranted speculation.
Meanwhile, political observers are abuzz with curiosity about the President’s next international visit after India. Many speculate China might be the next destination. However, sources suggest the President is more inclined toward a Middle Eastern tour, contingent on the progress of negotiations over a crucial oil deal. If the deal materializes, the Middle East visit could follow the Indian trip. Otherwise, China may take precedence.
Will Adani Lose Sri Lanka?
A major controversy erupted just as the Sri Lankan President prepared for an official visit to India. The United States has filed a lawsuit against Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani, whose ventures extend to Sri Lanka’s energy sector, creating a significant shockwave. The lawsuit accuses Adani Green Energy, a company chaired by Adani, of bribing Indian officials with $250 million. Additionally, Adani and his relative Sagar Adani are alleged to have provided misleading and false information to secure $3 million in loans and bonds between 2020 and 2024.
This legal battle in U.S. courts could have far-reaching implications for Sri Lanka. Adani has undertaken significant investments in the country, including a joint venture with John Keells Holdings for the West Terminal development project at Colombo Harbor, set to begin in early 2025. Moreover, Adani secured a $553 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to fund his Sri Lankan ventures. This marked the first time the DFC partnered with Adani for investments in Sri Lanka.
The looming uncertainty lies in the potential fallout if Adani is found guilty in the United States. Such a verdict could jeopardize ongoing and planned projects in Sri Lanka, particularly those tied to U.S. financial backing, raising concerns about the stability of Adani’s investments in the region.
Sagala and Ruwan
10th parliament and the president’s throne speech was delivered on the 21st. All elected Members of parliament were present on this day except a few national list MPs from SJB and Cylinder. All other MPs present took their oaths as MPs. After the recent general election, SJB was entitled to 5 national list MPs and Cylinder 2. However on the inaugural day of the parliament Cylinder and the SJB nominated one MP each to the parliament due to the internal rift about the nomination of the rest. However, Cylinder party secretary has sent a letter to the election commissioner nominating only Ravi Karunanayaka as the national list MP and SJB Ranjith Maddumabandara.
A major rift about the national list of MPs has arisen in The Cylinder party. Election results indicated only Rohitha Abeyagunawardena and Chamara Sampath were elected to the parliament. Since all the others have lost. Ranil Wickramasinghe decided to give the two national list positions to his relation Ruwan Wijewardena and his close associate Sagala Ratnayake. Ranil Wickramasingha summoned the party secretary Shamila Fernando to his residence and instructed her to do so, however normally very loyal Shamila on this occasion was bold enough to reject Ranil’s request at once. Leaving Ranil’s residence she immediately informed to the party leader Ravi Karunanayaka.
Smelling Ranils plan is that in the event of some turmoil in the country, Ranil plans to make either Ruwan or Sagala resign and come to parliament again. Ravi immediately instructed Shamila since no agreement was reached for this to immediately send his name to the election commission. The conflict between Ravi and Cylinder started with this.
A contract for Vajira
However, knowing that he would be attacked as soon as other parties came to know about this, Ranil, immediately called UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena to hold an immediate media conference and announce that he had planned to give the national list of MP positions in the cylinder to Thalatha and Kanchana. Accordingly, at Ranil’s request, Vajira also called a media conference and took steps to fulfil the contract.
Meanwhile, a proposal had also been made by that party that the national list position should be given to former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. As soon as that proposal came, everyone unanimously informed Ranil not to nominate Dinesh from the national list at all. Everyone stated Dinesh a big liar who did not help anyone in the last election, Dinesh’s name was shed out from the very beginning.
Accordingly, discussions after discussions were held at Ranil’s office in Flower Road last week to resolve the issue of the national list MP post in the cylinder. It was seen that the names of various people came to the fore. In particular, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party had proposed that Faizer Mustafa be given the national list post. The Pohottuwa proposed the name of Kanchana Wijesekera.
While discussing this matter, a certain operation was launched by some others. That was, a proposal this MP post should be given to Kesbewe Chandana Kathriarachchi, a former strongman of the SLFP. In addition to that proposal, a letter signed by 56 former MPs was also presented. Accordingly, many people said that this was a game played by Ravi to respond to the game played by Ranil. However, until Friday, no name had been proposed for the remaining national list MP positions in the cylinder.
SJB in trouble
As the cylinder national list issue dragged on like this, it was seen that the SJB was also facing a problem based on the national list issue. That is, it could not decide who would be appointed to the 5 national list seats that the SJB had. The main factor that affected this was that before the general election, Sajith had promised to give one seat each from the SJB national list to Rauff Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen and Digambaram, the minority party leaders who are with the SJB.
Accordingly, the SJB should have given one seat from the remaining two list seats to the party’s General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara. Accordingly, there was a huge demand for the remaining national list MP posts because various parties had continuously requested Sajith to give them the MP post. Some said that since the Muslim Congress had a national list from their party, the SJB should not give another MP post from the national list.
In addition, several parties had informed the party that the relevant MP post should be given to Eran Wickramaratne. Eran was not to contest the general election this time. However, the SJB leaders got him to agree to contest the general election by promising that if he lost, they would bring him to Parliament from the national list. Accordingly, the SJB leaders had informed Sajith that that promise should be fulfilled. On the other hand, Hirunika also expressed her views to the media that if the SJB had decided to give the national list MP post to a woman, she is the only woman suitable for it. In addition, the Malwatta Maha Thero had also sent a letter to Sajith informing him that it would be appropriate to give the remaining national list MP seat to Kandy SJB leader Lakshman Kiriella.
Negotiations Begin
In this way, when there was a huge demand for the SJB national list and signs of it becoming a problem, Sajith initiated personal discussions with certain parties to resolve the problem. Accordingly, Sajith went to meet the leaders of the minor parties with the SJB, namely Rauff Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen, Mano Ganeshan and P. Digambaram, at their homes in Colombo. One of the things that said there was that Mano Ganeshan, who had contested from Colombo and lost, was ready to come.
However, another issue that arose there was that it would be wrong to give the national list MP seat to Mano, which belonged to Digambaram, and that a policy decision had been taken within the party that a national list MP seat would not be given to someone who had lost the election. It was also suggested that a new face from Digambaram’s party should be nominated to Parliament to replace the loser.
However, by Thursday (21), when the MPs were sworn in, the SJB had only been able to nominate one of the five listed MPs. That was the party’s General Secretary, Ranjith Madduma Bandara.
A Rebellion Against Sajith
While a problem arose based on the SJB list MP position, a rebellion was also launched against party leader Sajith within the SJB last week. The initiative to launch this revolt was taken by none other than those who had been creating problems within the SJB by making deals with Ranil since the day the SJB was formed and fulfilling Ranil’s wishes. We have revealed countless facts about these groups through the ‘inside politics’ column in the past.
It was repeatedly revealed in this column about the people who made deals with Ranil since the day he assumed the presidency, the people who frequently sneaked into the Presidential Secretariat to meet Ranil, how an SJB Gampaha District MP went to Nuwara Eliya with his family and obtained a license from Ranil to start a liquor factory, and the SJB MPs who took steps to obtain crores from the government’s decentralized fund while no opposition MP had received any. We have also revealed on numerous occasions about the SJB MPs who played the role of ‘Migel by day and Daniel by night’ without revealing their names due to ethical reasons.
However, Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara, who were elected to parliament from the SJB, betrayed their principles and joined the government by taking ministerial posts. In his very first speech, Harin said that the SJB candidate in the next presidential election should be Harsha de Silva, not Sajith. Harin made that statement not out of spite but with Ranil’s knowledge. From the beginning, Ranil wanted to create conflicts within the SJB break it into two or three and finish Sajith off. Ranil launched this agenda to destroy Sajith from the day he came to the presidency.
In the end, knowing as clearly as the sun and the moon that he would lose, Ranil contested the presidential election to pull the SJB votes by the legs of Sajith, who was about to win, and defeat Sajith.
Ranil used several MPs from within the SJP to launch Ranil’s agenda from that day. At the forefront of this were none other than Harsha de Silva, Kabir Hashim, Gayantha Karunathilaka, Kavinda Jayawardena, and to some extent Iran Wickramaratne. Ranil used these MPs to undermine Sajith and the SJB through various means.
Once, Ranil was able to bring Gayantha to a land deed distribution ceremony in Galle. Ranal took steps to embarrass the SJB by posting photos of Gayantha and Ranil together on stage.
Rebel leaders
In addition, Kabir, Harsha, and Iran all believed in Ranil’s economic policy more than the SJB’s economic policy. They always praised Ranil’s economic policy and publicly stated that it should be taken forward further, otherwise the country would be heading for a crisis. For this reason, no matter how many blueprint policies were presented that popularized the SJB’s economic policy, the people did not see a difference between Ranil and the SJB. The people thought that both were the same. The result was that people queued up and voted for the compass that did not even present a public economic program.
Next, the country saw a very close relationship between Harsha and Ranil in the incident of obtaining the post of Chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee. Since the position of Chairman of the Government Finance Committee should have been given to the opposition, the then opposition nominated Harsha de Silva, but Ranil tactfully did not allow it. Instead, Ranil appointed a member of the government party as the Chairman of the Finance Committee. Therefore, Harsha had gone and discussed with Ranil on several occasions to obtain the position of Chairman of the Finance Committee for himself.
Although Sajith and the SJB launched a big fight inside and outside Parliament to give Harsha the position, after assuming the position of Chairman of the Finance Committee, Harsha had taken steps to invite Ranil to a meeting of the committee on one occasion. Although the President is not usually invited to a Finance Committee meeting, since Ranil was in office at the time, no one questioned Harsha about his invitation. Nor did he question Ranil about his participation in it.
In addition, when a problem arose under Ranil’s economic policy, the Finance Committee also invited members of parliament to discuss the matter. Accordingly, the then opposition leader Sajith also attended the event. But the most special incident that was witnessed here was that when the members of the ruling party requested that Sajith not be allowed to express his views, Harsha, knowing that the ruling party had a majority of members, allowed a vote to be held on the matter. Since the ruling party won the vote, Sajith was ultimately forced to remain silent at the Finance Committee meeting without asking any questions.
Kabir’s move
A similar situation exists with Kabir. Ranil had been trying to get Kabir into the government since the day he became president. Kabir also maintained a close relationship with Ranil to do his work. He brought Ranil’s messages to the SJB. That is why Ranil thought that Kabir would join the government at the right time. But Kabir, knowing that Ranil would lose at the last moment, refrained from joining the government. Therefore, Ranil leaked a letter that Kabir had submitted to the government requesting several acres of land from Hanthana to the Compass. Compass received that letter and launched a strong attack on Kabir and the SJB in the past. As a result, the SJB faced great difficulties in the eyes of the country.
Harsha also maintained a close relationship with Ranil and worked to obtain crores of rupees of decentralized funds from the government. Accordingly, this time we are very responsible and ready to reveal another secret from this column. That is, by tomorrow or the day after, two lists are scheduled to come out that include how these economic tycoons have taken privileges from the government. Then, the clothes of all these hidden and disguised people will undoubtedly be exposed in the country.
Also, after the defeat in the presidential election, Harsha was once again preparing to tie up Ranil’s UNP and the SJB. Accordingly, Harsha, Kavinda, Homagama SJB organizer Eranda Weliange and Hirunika, who met with SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara on the same day after the defeat in the presidential election, had proposed that the SJB leadership be handed over to Harsha. But at that time, it was a ridiculous proposal and did not last long. But it did not end there. Another round of secret talks began at a Colombo temple where Ranil and Mahinda were politically manipulated to merge the SJB and Ranil’s UNP.
Ranil’s cousin Ruwan, Harsha and several others were present. We then took steps to reveal through the column how Sajith had great influence in merging the UNP and SJB. During these talks, Ruwan showed that Ranil would step down from the UNP leadership that he would then become the UNP leader, and that both parties would then be able to merge. But at that very moment, we said that what Ruwan was doing was a blatant lie and that Ranil would never step down from the UNP leadership. Today, it has been 100% confirmed. Accordingly, many people now suspect that what Ruwan and Harsha did that day was a deliberate conspiracy. It has now been confirmed that Ranil will not relinquish the UNP leadership even if he loses not by thirty votes but by 100 votes. This is not for any other reason but because Ranil aims to hold on to the UNP leadership until he hands it over to Ruwan and Sagala.
More votes than Sajith
After that, Harsha had said at several places during the general election that he would get at least one vote more than Sajith. Harsha had also said there that he would take over the leadership of the SJB by getting more votes. Sajith had also received the audio tape of this speech made by Harsha, and this column had also received the audio tape. However, we did not reveal them at that time because revealing such a thing during an election campaign would create a disadvantageous situation for the SJB. In the end, while Harsha received 81,473 preferential votes from Colombo, Sajith received 64,000 more preferential votes than Harsha, obtaining 145,611 preferential votes.
However, we are not without questions about Sajith and the SJB. It is true that as the main opposition, we took steps to give more publicity to the SJB during the previous election campaigns. If not only the SJB but another party in the opposition acts as the main opposition, we are ready to give the same kind of propaganda to that main opposition. Because we have always stood up for the opposition rather than standing up for the government because there must be a strong opposition in the country to protect democracy. Accordingly, we are ready to make a special revelation next week about the criticism of the SJB and Sajith. Sajith may also be attacked there. Harsha and Kabir may also be attacked. Dealers who wear tie coats may also be attacked. We have nothing to do with that. We do not have any personal problems with them. Because our position is that no matter what happens in politics, there should be a strong, undivided opposition.
LG elections
Although two national elections have been concluded, two more elections are yet to be held. The first of these is the local government elections. Everything is ready to be held next January. Accordingly, the SJB will have the first opportunity to prepare a strong mechanism at the village level. Instead of the old faces seen so far, the SJB must bring out new young faces introduce them to the people, and end this stale deal politics. Sajith must put aside these tycoon dealmakers who are destroying the party and embark on a new political journey at least in the upcoming local government elections.
Kabir’s different game plan
The latest scene of this deal politics was seen at the first parliamentary group meeting of the SJB held after the general election defeat. There, a rumor went around that Kabir had spoken to several members of the SJB and requested them to support him in obtaining the position of opposition leader. This matter was reported to the party leaders after a minority party leader who is with the SJB also made this request from Kabir. He had informed the relevant authorities about this information and said that Kabir had sought his support in obtaining the post of opposition leader in this way, and that he had rejected it. When investigating the matter, it was reported that Kabir had spoken to several SJB MPs and made this kind of request. However, since no one had responded positively to it, Kabir was seen silently standing aside even after attending the first MP group meeting.
Archuna in Jaffna
Several special incidents were witnessed on the opening day of the 10th Parliament held last Thursday (21). What attracted more attention on social media than the policy statement presented by the President was the acrobatics performed by a newly elected MP sitting in the seat belonging to the Opposition Leader. A parliamentary employee came and told the new MP that the seat belonged to the Opposition Leader and asked him to leave, but the young MP continued to sit in the seat, arguing with him. He recorded the video and later uploaded it to social media.
However, since this does not usually happen in a Parliament, this video was widely criticized on social media. It was also seen that everyone was interested in finding out who this new MP was. There, some media and some groups reported that this new MP was Dr. Archuna Ramanathan, who was elected from Jaffna representing the Compass, and many people seemed to have launched a propaganda campaign against the Compass on social media. However, the government had issued a statement stating that he was not a member of the Compass but a person who had contested from Jaffna as an independent party and came to parliament. Accordingly, everyone began to investigate who this Archuna Ramanathan was.
Archuna Ramanathan is a young doctor from Jaffna. It is also said that when Archuna once went to assume duties at the Chavakachcheri Hospital, other doctors and hospital employees there opposed him. However, because he was a popular figure among the people, Archuna had first requested the opportunity to contest from the main parties in the North. First, he had gone to the Tamil National Alliance. But the Tamil National Alliance had refused to give him a nomination. Later, when the then Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa was on a visit to Jaffna, Archuna met Sajith and requested the opportunity to contest from the North. At that time, Sajith was willing to give Archuna a nomination from the SJB. Still, all the SJB organizers in the North opposed it and informed Sajith that Archuna was an uncontrollable character. Accordingly, the SJB also ultimately refrained from giving Archuna a nomination. Accordingly, Archuna, who contested as an independent party, was elected to Parliament with a majority vote.
However, after the uproar over the parliamentary seat incident, Archuna once again posted a video on his Facebook account saying that he believed in Prabhakaran. Archuna, who stated that he had taken the seat of Opposition Leader due to the letter sent to him that day, had been instructed to sit in any seat and had also stated that he was prepared to resign from his position as a Member of Parliament in another year or two and contest for the Northern Provincial Council.
