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Diana petitions SC against SJB move to sack her
‘She switched her allegiance to SLPP by voting for 20A’
By Chitra Weerarathne and Shamindra Ferdinando
Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) National List MP Diana Gamage has sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to thwart a move to expel her from the party.
Gamage says that in case the party went ahead with its decision, she would lose her parliamentary seat.
The SJB says MP Gamage has been expelled because she voted for the 20 A to the Constitution submitted by the government. The controversial Amendment received a two-thirds majority in Parliament in Oct. 2020.
The petitioner has requested the SC to direct the Elections Commission and the Secretary General of Parliament not to take action against her.
Among the respondents are SJB Secretary General Ranjith Madduma Bandara and its leader Sajith Premadasa. Diana Gamage, in her petition alleged that the party deprived her of a fair hearing before her expulsion from the party.
The SJB secured 54 seats at the last parliamentary elections held in August 2020. Gamage was among the seven National List lawmakers appointed on the SJB list. Other than Gamage, the SJB accommodated former UNP MPs on its National List. They are Tissa Attanayake, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Harin Fernando, Mayantha Dissanayake, Eran Wickremaratne and Imthiaz Bakeer Markar.
Gamage joined fellow SJB MPs Ishaq Rahuman, M. Raheem, Nasir Ahmed, Mohomed Harris, Faizal Cassim, Aravind Kumar and M.S. Thowfeek to vote for the 20A.
In the run-up to the 2020 parliamentary polls, the rebel UNP group took over ‘Ape Jathika Peramuna’ formed by Diana Gamage’s husband Senaka de Silva, one-time top aide to General Sarath Fonseka and registered it as Samagi Jana Balavegaya under controversial circumstances. In terms of the agreement between Senaka de Silva and the UNP rebel group, Diana Gamage received a National List slot, in addition to her being named the Deputy Secretary General of the SJB.
Civil society activist and one-time media head of President Maithripala Sirisena’s social media unit Oshala Herath, an unsuccessful UNP candidate at the last parliamentary election, made an abortive bid to thwart the re-registration of Ape Jathika Peramuna as Samagi Jana Balavegaya. The attempt was made before Herath received nomination from the UNP to contest the Colombo District at the 2020 election.
An SJB official told The Island that Diana Gamage couldn’t represent the SLPP at the expense of her own party. She had even attended a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat, chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the official said, pointing out that she crossed the line when she voted for the 20 A contrary to a decision taken by the party.
Now that Gamage has switched her allegiance to the SLPP, the SJB had felt the need to bring the matter to a conclusion by removing her, the official said.
A sum of LKR. 9,687,462, raised from day’s salary officers of the Police Department, has been donated to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to support the recovery of communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah and to assist in rebuilding the country following the disaster.
To date, officers of the Police Department have contributed over LKR. 74 million to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund through three such contributions of one day’s salary.
The donation was presented on Wednesday (22) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat by the Personal Assistant to the Inspector General of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police C. C. Bamunuarachchi, to the Secretary to the President, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Chief Inspector Udaya Kumara, Officer-in-Charge of the Police Secretariat, was also present on the occasion.
[Presidents Media Division]
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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, and Eastern provinces and in Monaragala district during the day time
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Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 26 April 2026, valid for 27 April 2026.
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Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa has called for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate the illegal diversion of Treasury funds, amounting to US$2.5 million to a third-party account.
Premadasa has said both the chairmanship and a majority of the Committee’s membership should be held by the Opposition to ensure impartiality.
The government has not only failed to account for the loss of US$2.5 million but also deliberately withheld information from Parliament, the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) and the public, Premadasa has told the media, accusing the ruling party of seeking to deflect responsibility by initiating an internal departmental inquiry, which he describes as a biased process designed to justify predetermined conclusions.
The Opposition Leader has said only a transparent and independent probe could establish the facts, adding that such an investigation could be effectively carried out through a Parliamentary Select Committee led by the Opposition.
He has also warned that the alleged failure to inform Parliament about the missing funds amounted to a serious breach of accountability.
Police officers donate LKR 9,687,462 from day’s salary to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund
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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, and Eastern provinces and in Monaragala district during the day time
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