Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has reportedly told members of his party to refrain from responding to the statement made by the President, and instead focus on resolving the problems of the people.

The Prime Minister had made this position clear while responding to a suggestion by junior MPs at a meeting with party members at the UNP Working Committee meeting at Sirikotha last morning. 

The junior MPs had asked that the party respond to allegations made by the President at a speech made at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on May 30, to mark the 76th birth anniversary of the late Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera.

President Sirisena had said that some of the content of the 100-day programme implemented by the Good Governance government after he won the election in 2015 were ‘stupid’ and he didn’t know whose idea it was to include them.

He spoke in particular of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, which diluted many powers of the Executive Presidency, and was passed with 218 voting in favour in a 225 member government, on 28 April 2015.

“In which parliament, in the history of the world, has a Constitution been amended for the want of a mere 47,” he asked referring to the number of UNP MPs in the government at the time, who were agitating for a change.