Former Southern Provincial Councilor and staunch supporter of MP Sajith Premadasa, Maithri Gunaratne has said that the office assistant who works at the UNP headquarters has more powers than the members of the UNP Leadership Council.

He said the success the UNP achieved at the recently held Uva Provincial Council election had nothing to do with the formation of the UNP Leadership Council.

“It was solely based on the popularity of Harin Fernando and Premadasa’s decision to participate in the UNP convention in Badulla. The UNP supporters were of the belief that the party was united and they came forward as one to support the party,” Gunaratne told Asian Mirror.

The Leadership Council of the party, Gunarathne said, has not been able to perform its duties. “They haven’t resolved any issue in the party. They haven’t even completed the appointment of electorate organizers. Leadership Council is nothing but an utter waste of time. There is no point in even talking about it,” the former Southern Provincial Council, who was at loggerheads with the party leadership for a few years, charged.

“Even the General Secretary of the party, appointed by Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, resigned from the Leadership Council on Monday and that alone is testament to the futility of the Leadership Council.

However, speaking at the Working Committee meeting yesterday, UNP National Leader Ranil Wickemesinghe advised all members of the party to refrain from criticizing party officials in public, at any cost. He also added that everyone in the UNP should share a collective responsibility over the decisions made by top decision making bodies of the party.

Wickremesinghe also asserted that the Leadership Council should continue with its operations and there is no reason to dissolve it at this juncture. Earlier it was reported in the media that Premadasa has demanded the dissolution of the Leadership Council as a pre-condition prior to his appointment as the Deputy Leader of the party.

The ten member Leadership Council is presently headed by Gampaha District UNP Parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya.