Launching a scathing attack on the current government, former President Maithripala Sirisena challenged President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to hold a referendum to extend his term by two years.

Addressing an SLFP gathering in Matara, Sirisena said such attempts would turn out to be futile and blamed the current administration for letting down the entire country.

"The entire country is in an utter mess. Some people who do not know anything bout politics claim that this is similar to Mrs. Bandaranaike's era. I worked in a cooperative society during that period and I was in charge of supplies. It was nothing like the current mess. People did not curse the government like today," Sirisena added.

"When I was the President, I never let the country slide into a situation such as this. I did not have a single MP in Parliament to support me. when I increased the price of fuel by Rs. 2, they cycled from Fort to Parliament. They showed onions and coconuts to the public and asked "den sepada". As a result of their conduct, the whole country has become sick now," Sirisena added.

"The first national election we will face is a parliamentary election — not a Presidential election," the former President said.