evidence: He has also reminded the people of a ‘deal’ reached between Wickremesinghe and former President GR in 2019. It is no secret that Premadasa blamed Wickremesinghe for his defeat at the last Presidential Election, claiming that he (Wickremesinghe) had not put his full weight behind the campaign. [...] However, Premadasa had listened and not said anything. [...] Handunnetti’s statement, albeit controversial, is something that was carried out during 2022. Following Mahinda Rajapaksa’s resignation from the post of prime minister in April 2022, the Cabinet stood dissolved and then President GR carried out governance work with the ministry secretaries. This mechanism played out until Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Prime Minister and a new Cabinet was formed under him.