Sri Lanka opposition leader to meet Buddhist religious leaders today

Sri Lanka major opposition United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremasinghe will meet the chief prelates of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters of Siyam sect today.
The two leading Buddhist monks issued a joint statement in December last year urging Wickremasinghe to step down and hand over the party leadership to then Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya. The reverend monks have proposed that Wickremasinghe needs to remain in the Opposition Leader position whilst Karu Jayasuriya takes the helm of the party. However, Wickremasinghe did not step down and won a UNP working committee election against Karu Jayasuriya with a wide margin to secure the leadership. Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa who leads the faction that fielded Jayasuriya to compete with Wickremasinghe and Jayasuriya himself met the Buddhist chief prelates following the election. UNP leader meeting the influential Buddhist monks is considered a significant event. He has also scheduled to hold a meeting of the UNP activists of Kandy district today.