Former United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Tissa Attanayake says he is still a UNP member as he never resigned from his party membership, nor did he join the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
Speaking to the BBC Sinhala service, Attanayake says he backed former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the last Presidential election as he was not happy in the UNP.
“I took the decision (to back Rajapaksa) because of some issues in the party which I faced. In politics we take decisions like that. Some may say it was right and some may say it was wrong. I did not take that decision expecting anything big in return. It is of course only natural now to be disappointed,” he said.
Attanayake says during the election campaign he saw a large support base for Mahinda Rajapaksa but the difference in the end was with the votes President Maithripala Sirisena secured among the Tamils, Muslims and estate community.
Asked about the Ranil -Maithri deal which he made public during the election campaign, Attanayake said that he got a copy of the alleged deal in his mail after he was appointed Health Minister by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“This is not something I created,” Attanayake insisted.
He said that once he saw the document he felt it is important to be exposed and used it in the campaign after he went through the document carefully and believed it was authentic.
Asked if he had spoken to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe after the election, Attanayake said he tried but could not reach him but he had spoken to a few others who were appointed to the new Government.
(BBC Sandeshaya)
