Secretary to the President PB Jayasundara submitted his resignation letter to President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa last December. Jayasundera has not reported for duty at the Presidential Secretariat since December 27th after the President accepted his resignation. He was at his home in Nikaweratiya, Kurunegala.
However, sources from the Presidential Secretariat said that PB Jayasundera had visited the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (06) and held a special meeting while President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was on a visit to Kandy.
Jayasundera had summoned a group of Ministry Secretaries, a group of Additional Secretaries to the President’s Office as well as a group of retired Ministry Secretaries to the meeting held yesterday, where he had not given a word of resignation. On the contrary, various orders have been issued to these officers indicating that they will continue in office for a longer period.
The secretaries who were present during the meeting were confused about this and after the meeting, they have been discussing what is going on.
P.B. Jayasundera had informed the President in his resignation letter that he was retiring from January 31. But he was not at least present at the inauguration of the new year at the Presidential Secretariat, which was presided over by the President, on January 3. Meanwhile, the President has instructed his senior advisor Lalith Weeratunga to ask P.B. Jayasundera to resign on January 15 and not January 31. It is reported that the President has asked P.B. Jayasundara to resign from his post as he wants to appoint Gamini Senarath as the new Secretary and move forward. It is reported that Lalith Weeratunga has also given the same message to Jayasundera.
However, sources from the Presidential Secretariat said that Jayasundera had shown by his behavior yesterday that he did not want to resign.
In fact, P.B. Jayasundera had said on several previous occasions that he would resign, but he did not resign. On one previous occasion, he had even sent a letter of resignation to the President. But he did not resign. Accordingly, rumors are circulating in the political arena that P.B. will not leave this time as well.
During his recent stay in Kurunegala, P.B. Jayasundara had boasted in a newspaper stating that he would not be taking up any other government post and would write a book about his experience. But we must not forget that power is not something that can be easily abandoned by anyone.
Jayasundera, who has continued to exercise the highest level of government power since the tenure of Chandrika Bandaranaike, lost that position only during the period of Yahapalana Government in 2015-2019. Apart from that, he lived with the highest level of state power for about two decades. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
