evidence: The President further claimed that Premadasa and AKD must withdraw from the Presidential Election and support him if they were unable to respond to some key questions. "I would like to question where Sajith Premadasa and Anura Dissanayake were when the price of a gas cylinder climbed to Rs. 6,800. Why did they not take action at that time? We will continue to ask this question at every stage. They must provide answers; if they cannot, they should refrain from running in the election. I invite both Sajith and Anura to join us on either side of this stage," he added. [...] Premadasa had also informed his inner circle that consists of confidant Fonseka, Madduma Bandara, Marikkar, and Sujeewa Senasinghe that the SJB needed to be careful when accepting new members, especially those with corruption allegations.