Former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Bandarnaike Kumaratunga said that she had identified Maithripala Sirisena to contest in the island’s presidential elections earlier this year, as she sought to oust her successor Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Speaking to Indian reporters during her trip to the Hindu-Buddhist conclave in Bodh Gaya on behalf of Sri Lanka, Ms Bandarnaike claimed that “right through Rajapaksa’s regime, international community lamented his policies, and asked me why I wasn’t returning to politics”.
“People called me and said, I had brought the President in, I had to do something about him,” she added, saying that she “had to start looking around, under great difficulties” for an alternative to Mr Rajapaksa.
“There weren’t many more to identify as it was too difficult to find anyone in the SLFP who wasn’t known to be corrupt or a murderer,” said Ms Bandarnaike. “It was very difficult to find someone from my party at a leadership level like that. I had worked with Maithripala and I knew he fitted the bill, at least somewhat.”
She also denied that Indian intelligence agency RAW played a role in the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa at this year’s presidential elections.
See the full text of her interview here.
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