Move to woo support for Maithripala Sirisena:

Ranil - Chandrika pow-wow with TNA leader

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga had met a Tamil National Alliance delegation and held secret discussions on Tuesday at the Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo, according to reliable sources.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan and parliamentarians M.A. Sumanthiran, Democratic People’s Front Leader MP Mano Ganeshan, Malik Samarawickrema and MP Mangala Samaraweera are believed to have taken part in the discussions to muster support for the Common Presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

Among the main demands put forward by the TNA were dismantling high security zones, devolution of police and land powers to Provincial Councils and a federal form of administration to the remerged Northern and Eastern Provinces, the sources said. Both parties had agreed to keep the deliberations secret while Mano Ganeshan has been tasked with discussing and coordinating the TNA’s demands and its implementation, it is learnt. It had also been decided that the TNA would not hold further discussions with the common opposition but the responsibility of discussing any future problems had been entrusted to MP Mano Ganeshan.

The sources said that, it was agreed at the final discussion to provide a solution to the problems in the North before common candidate Maithripala Sirisena quits the Presidency or abolishes the Executive Presidency, the sources said.