President Maithripala Sirisena ordered the removal of 13 Sri Lanka Freedom Party Central Committee Members.

These include Rathnasiri Wickramanayake, Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, DM Jayaratne, John Seneviratne, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Kamala Ranatunga and Salinda Dissanayake.

Furthermore, 13 other members will be appointed to the Central Committee. Reports said that appointment letters have been signed by the newly appointed SLFP General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake.

The SLFP party membership of Susil Premajayantha and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa have also been suspended by President Maithripala Sirisena along with all positions they held within the party.

Premajayantha was sacked as UPFA General Secretary to be replaced with Prof. Wishwa Warnapala. Anura Yapa was replaced as SLFP General Secretary by Duminda Dissanayake.

Meanwhile the Central Committee membership of Premajayantha and Yapa were also suspended.

However, speaking to media, Premajayantha rejected the removal, saying that this cannot be done without approval of the SLFP Central Committee and the UPFA Executive Committee.

President Maithripala Sirisena met former Sri Lankan ruggerite Wasim Thsjudeen's family today.

The President assured Thajudeen's family that the investigations on the death of the former Havelock's SC captain will be carried out as a matter of priority. Meanwhile, he assured that Thajudeen's family will be given full security until investigations are concluded.

Thajudeen died in 2012 in what was then described as an accident. However, recent findings have made the CID inform the Magistrate's Court that it is no accident. His body was exhumed on August 10 for further analysis.

President Maithripala Sirisena hit out at opponents within the UPFA and the SLFP by sacking the two general secretaries of the parties, Susil Premajayantha and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.

Premajayantha was replaced by Prof. Wishwa Warnapala as UPFA General Secretary and Anura Yapa was replaced by Duminda Dissanayake as SLFP General Secretary.

This was revealed when Dissanayake and Warnapala requested an interim injuction order from the Colombo District Court to carry out their duties without any disturbance. They informed court that they have been appointed as acting General Secretaries by the President.

Premajayantha was the first General Secretary of the UPFA and served in the capacity from its founding in 2004. Anura Yapa was appointed following the defection of Maithripala Sirisena to the opposition at the end of 2014.