The appointment of Sajith Premadasa to the position of deputy leader of the opposition UNP party calls into question UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe's "judgement and sincerity" in building links with the Tamil people, said the Global Tamil Forum (GTF).

Stating that the GTF had declined an invitation to meet with Wickremesinghe in the UK last week, the group's spokesperson Suren Surendiran told Sri Lanka's Sunday Times newspaper that it was "due to his recent appointment of Sajith Premadasa as Deputy Leader".

"We politely declined an invitation to meet the UNP leader. We did not want to meet him in private. It is due to his recent appointment of Sajith Premadasa as Deputy Leader. He is a racist," Surendiran said.

"This appointment has raised questions about the judgement and sincerity of Wickremesinghe. We wanted to meet him openly and tell the people what was discussed."

His comments come as the UNP member for Uva, whose electoral success in the recent provincial council election was celebrated by the UNP as a positive turning point for the party, called for Sajith Premadasa to be put forward as Prime Ministerial candidate.

“We are ready to dedicate ourselves to the party if Mr. Wickremesinghe did his bit and name Mr. Premadasa as the Prime Ministerial candidate,” Uva member Harin Fernando said, reports the Daily Mirror.

According to the Colombo Page, next week Wickremasinghe is to hold a discussion with ten political parties next week, including leaders from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).