COLOMBO (News 1st); State Minister Indika Anuruddha commended the efforts made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe during a media briefing convened by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.

He told reporters that it was Basil Rajapaksa who recommended that Wickremesinghe be handed over the task of taking the IMF program forward. 

"The initial step was taken during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration. We had a few people in the Viyath Maga who were dragging the president's feet. It was Basil Rajapaksa who in fact made the recommendation that Ranil Wickremesinghe is the only person who can take the program forward," he said.
 

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