Kiriella chides dissidents for dilly-dallying on impeachment move

Second group of govt. rebels critical of defection

SLPP’s move to win over rebel MP Navaratne fails

By Shamindra Ferdinando

National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa ha emphasised that the 11-party dissident group wouldn’t return to the negotiating table until President Gotabaya Rajapaksa sacked newly appointed State Minister Shantha Bandara.

The former Industries Minister said so yesterday (17) in response to The Island query whether the indefinitely postponed second round of talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa could be resumed early this year.

The dissident group has been engaged in talks with Opposition political parties in support of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s call for the establishment of an interim administration as part of the overall measures to restore political stability.

MP Weerawansa ruled out resumption of talks with the President unless he was ready to rectify the wrongdoing.

The dissident group called off a meeting scheduled to take place at the Janadhipathi Mandiraya at 7 pm on 12 April after Shantha Bandara was sworn in as the State Minister for Agriculture. The first round of talks took place on 10 April also at the same venue.

The rebel group comprises Democratic Left Front, the Lanka Sama Samaja Pakshaya, the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the National Freedom Front, the National Congress, the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, the Vijaya Dharani Jathika Sabhawa, the Eksath Mahajana Pakshaya and the Yuthukama civil society organisation. The group consists of about 30 members.

MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa alleged that the government’s failure to address issues at hand had prompted another group of SLPP members to rebel against the ruling coalition. Declaring they had no intention of betraying the government by joining what he called the Opposition political project, MP Yapa said that the government shouldn’t have engineered Shantha Bandara’s defection.

Responding to another query, Yapa said that second rebel group comprised 11 members at the moment though there was a likelihood of more joining them.

Yapa said that though there hadn’t been formal talks between the group consisting of 11 parties and those in the second dissident faction, both groups largely represented the same interests. Pointing out that the existence of the second group had been officially announced in Parliament, Yapa said that they would continue to pursue a campaign of their own to pressure the government. Lawmaker Yapa, who is also the Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) described Shantha Bandara’s defection as an outdated political strategy simply irrelevant at the present juncture.

Former General Secretary of the Communist Party D.E.W. Gunasekera yesterday warned the government that the rapidly developing crisis couldn’t be resolved by engineering defections. The former Minister agreed with MP Yapa’s assertion that such strategies were obsolete and even counterproductive.

Gunasekera said that the 11 party group had expressed concerns over Shantha Bandara’s defection. Declaring that whoever engineered the defection, it didn’t help the President’s efforts to defuse the political crisis. According to the former minister, an extremely ill-timed move jeopardized the government ahead of forthcoming talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meant to obtain the much needed assistance to overcome the financial crisis.

Gunasekera emphasized that the government couldn’t have been unaware of the implications of the decision to announce the suspension of debt repayments pending talks with the IMF. The former Minister asked, “Wouldn’t it have been much better to make the announcement having obtained the IMF’s consent in that regard?”

The CP veteran questioned the alleged bid to win over rebel group member Asanka Navaratne through devious means. Gunasekera alleged that a National List MP and another first time MP accompanied by the Chairman of a state enterprise had been to MP Navaratne’s Kurunegala residence where they offered the rebel a ministerial portfolio on behalf of the SLPP founder Basil Rajapaksa.

The targeted MP has declined the offer and brought the incident to the attention of the rebel group.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denied any knowledge of the move when the rebel group sought his position on the latest backdoor attempt. Gunasekera said that the President’s claim of not being involved in the failed defection should be examined against the backdrop of Shantha Bandara receiving a state ministerial portfolio.

Gunasekera said that there were half a dozen SLPP lawmakers closely watching the situation. “They are contemplating siding with the rebels and that may result in the government even losing its simple majority in Parliament,” the former Minister said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Opposition Whip Lakshaman Kiriella yesterday told The Island that the rebels including the so called second dissident group couldn’t under any circumstances refuse to sign a petition seeking to impeach President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. “We don’t want to hear any more excuses. What we need is their backing to impeach the President. The dissidents cannot drag their feet over the impeachment move, especially against the backdrop of Shantha Bandara’s defection,” lawmaker Kiriella declared.

Asked whether the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) move had received the backing of the entire Opposition, MP Kiriella said that there was absolutely no issue with regard to their support, the issue at hand was the delaying tactics adopted by those who declared intention to operate as independent groups in the Parliament.

 The SJB needs 113 signatures for the impeachment move against the President to be a reality.

Responding to questions, MP Kiriella said that they were hoping to present an amendment to do away with the executive presidency and also exploring ways and means of securing consensus on the re-enactment of provisions in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution by way of a 21st Amendment.

Lawmaker Gammanpila said that President Rajapaksa’s response to the political crisis and the ongoing public protest campaign opposite the Presidential Secretariat demanding his resignation seemed quite inadequate. Gammanpila declared that Shantha Bandara’s defection increased pressure on the government struggling to cope up with the ongoing protest campaign.