'UNP bride' will never be given in marriage - D. M. Jayaratne

by Anura Maitipe

The senior members of the UNP have expressed their displeasure over promising the deputy leadership to Mangala Samaraweera by disregarding senior members who had toiled hard for the party, well informed sources told the Sunday Observer. As Mangala has not brought a group of MPs as he promised earlier therefore it was not proper to promise him a deputy leader post in a future UNP Government.

This move by the UNP leadership has created a lot of friction within the party.

However, the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has asked them not to be in a hurry about deputy posts and to be quiet until he resolves the matter in the course of time.

People's Alliance General Secretary D.M Jayaratne expressing his views on the newly formed alliance of the Mangala group and the UNP said, the deputy leader's post in the UNP is like a daughter of Ranil Wickremesinghe and he proposed her to everybody and never gave her to anybody.

"We remember how once she was proposed to Karu Jayasuriya and at the last moment Mr. Wickremesinghe refused to give her in marriage. As he could not bear the pain of a long awaited marriage he crossed over to the Government".

This sweet bride was again proposed to S. B. Dissanayake and poor Dissanayake was in a hurry to get her. But as a result he lost everything and became the "Prince of Saliya" and entered into Sri Lanka's political history", he said.

The bridal daughter of Mr. Wickremesinghe has now been proposed to Mangala Samaraweera and in the meantime Lakshman Kiriella is also peeping through the window into her room. Now it was the story of two "lovers and one bride" and this is now another sweet dream for both, he said.

"I am quite sure Mr. Wickremesinghe will never give her in marriage because he knows that if she was given in marriage to another person he would lose his inherited property given by his uncle, the leadership of the UNP, he said.