Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Members of Parliament or Provincial Councils supporting the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at the upcoming Local Government elections will be expelled, following disciplinary action, Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said yesterday.
“We hear that certain SLFP MPs and PC members, are going to support the SLPP at the forthcoming Local Government elections. No SLFP member can stand for the victory of any other political party which is considered a clear violation of the party constitution,” the Minister added.
The Minister added that the party will later take legal action against errant members which may result in them losing their Parliamentary or Provincial Council seats.
“Therefore, legal action will be taken against such party members of the SLFP, who support the SLPP at the upcoming LG polls,” he added.
“Accordingly, legal action will be taken against these SLFP members, who have been elected as SLFP Parliamentarians, Provincial Councillors or any other positions after contesting under the SLFP banner,” the Minister added.
Minister Samarasinghe added that there are legal provisions not only to sack them from the party but also expel them from their Parliamentary or Provincial Council seats.
“There are no two words. The party will bring their case before courts,” he stressed.
However the Minister said that the final decision in this regard will be taken by the Central Committee of the SLFP in due course.
Minister Samarasinghe speaking on the recent State visit of President Maithripala Sirisena to South Korea, said that Sri Lanka was able to garner a host of benefits from the recent State visit of the President.
He added that in accordance with the framework agreement signed between the two countries, Sri Lanka will receive US $ 300 million at a concessionary rate.
“But as a mark of gratitude to the President, this amount has been increased to US $ 500 million. This is also a huge achievement. The monies will be utilised in several sectors including health, education, industry, investments etc,” Minister Samarasinghe said.
“The country’s economy is driven in the right direction and therefore foreign reserves have increased, resulting in the decrease the interest rates. It is obvious that the country receives more local and foreign investments when the interest rates decrease, ” he added.
He said that provincial councils can utilise the powers vested by the 13th Amendment rather than seeking powers through federalism.
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