The United National Party (UNP) has invited representatives from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) to participate in its 79th anniversary celebration scheduled for tomorrow. Following internal discussions, the SJB has decided that only its General Secretary, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, will attend the event.
The decision was taken during a special meeting of the party’s senior members yesterday, after the UNP officially extended the invitation. Although several SJB MPs were also invited, recent statements by UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena, personally directed to SJB MPs, influenced the party’s decision.
SJB MPs expressed concern that the UNP Chairman’s direct communications were intended to create divisions within the party. In response, the SJB General Secretary reportedly contacted UNP General Secretary Thalatha Athukorala to formally protest these actions. Consequently, the SJB has resolved that only Ranjith Madduma Bandara will represent the party at the UNP anniversary.
The decision comes after a controversy surrounding media reports. While former President and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was under arrest and hospitalized, the Sunday Times, owned by Ruwan Wijewardene, published a story claiming that the SJB had been invited to the UNP anniversary and that the party’s General Secretary had accepted.
Ranjith Madduma Bandara later refuted the report, stating that he had not received any such invitation and that the Sunday Times had not contacted him for comment. SJB MPs maintain that the report was a deliberate attempt by factions aligned with Ranil Wickremesinghe, published via the Sunday Times, to create divisions within the SJB and encourage some MPs to attend the UNP event.
