No-faith motion against Amaratunga in Parliament:  SLFP seeks victory before April

By Shamindra Ferdinando-February 4, 2015
 
 SLFP General Secretary and Kurunegala District MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa yesterday said that the Opposition expected Public Security, Community and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga to resign if he lost a no-faith motion to be moved against him over the recent violent incident at Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha.
 
 MP Yapa alleged that Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman R.A. Thyagaratna Alwis and several other PS members had been assaulted at the behest of Minister Amaratunga within the Pradeshiya Sabha premises on the morning of Jan. 30. The police had been present, though they failed to bring the situation under control, MP Yapa said.
 
 “We’ll be collecting signatures soon. The Opposition will seek an early date for the vote.”
 
 MP Yapa said that the UPFA commanded more than double the number of UNP members in parliament. “Therefore Minister Amaratunga couldn’t avert a heavy defeat. The SLFP parliamentary group at a special meeting in Parliament on Monday decided to move a no-faith motion. The UPFA group in Parliament comprises about 130 with over 120 odd SLFP members. We have a clear majority and our support to President Maithripala Sirisena’s 100-day project doesn’t mean the SLFP will tolerate high handed actions of UNPers.”
 
 Asked whether the parliamentary group had consulted President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also the Chairman of the SLFP before deciding to move against Minister Amaratunga, the SLFP General Secretary acknowledged that the party leader hadn’t been consulted. However, the party was determined to move the House against Minister Amaratunga, MP Yapa said, adding the police should obtain video evidence available with television stations.
 
 Responding to another query, MP Yapa admitted that there was no parliamentary law to compel Gampaha District MP Amaratunga to give up his portfolios in case of defeat at a no-confidence motion. However, the Opposition would continue to question his right to retain ministerial portfolios after having lost a no faith motion.
 
 With both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announcing plans to dissolve Parliament soon after April 23, 2015, the SLFP is preparing for next parliamentary polls.
 
 MP Yapa said that there hadn’t been a previous case in which a minister/member of a minority government faced a no-faith motion since the introduction of JRJ’s Constitution in 1978. Successive political parties in the Opposition had unsuccessfully moved no-confidence motions against ruling party members, though there had never been a case similar to that of Minister Amaratunga’s, MP Yapa said.
 
 Meanwhile, Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Alwis on Monday led a protest campaign against minister Amaratunga after having addressed the media. Alwis and several local government members said violence had been unleashed by a gang acting on the instructions of Minister Amaratunga.
 
 Recollecting a statement attributed to Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe at a recent meeting also attended by President Sirisena, MP Yapa said that the UNP leader declared his intention not to give nominations to those engaged in post-polls violence.