- G-10 meets Sajith for support on all-party interim govt., but Sajith pushes NCM
- SJB for NCM; NPP for impeachment and NCM; independent group for interim govt.
- Govt. to hold virtual meeting with IMF tomorrow and letter of intent to be sent
- Mahindananda in heated exchange of words with Basil at last pre-resignation Cabinet
- Ali Sabry and Ramesh slam Cabraal over failures that led to current economic crisis
- President withdraws emergency after meetings with SLFP and group of SLPP MPs
- SLFP MPs clash with Dayasiri for violating group decision; no invite for party presser
- Basil confident of a 117 majority for Govt. in Parliament, asks MPs not to worry
While the country has witnessed over a hundred protests in all parts of the country during the past week demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Government led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resign, a majority of public representatives in the Legislature seem to have failed the public with their inability to reach a consensus on addressing the ongoing economic crisis that is threatening to bring the country to a standstill by next month.
Even after a two-day debate in the House and a proposal presented by a group of independent MPs on forming an all-party interim government to tide over the country through the crisis, there seems to be no proper consensus on a way out with each party in the Opposition demanding the proverbial ‘pound of flesh’.
The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has however managed to stymie the growing public protest outside the Legislature through its attitude of political one-upmanship by failing to reach a consensus with the 42 members of the governing party who are now seated independently in the House.
The SJB’s move to present a No Confidence Motion (NCM) against the Government without proper consultations with other political parties in Parliament and securing the required number for its passage at the moment stands to the benefit of the Government.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) has also failed to provide a tangible solution to address the immediate crisis at hand. The NPP proposal is for an impeachment motion against President Rajapaksa and an NCM against the Government. As for a solution to ensure that the country does not come to a standstill next month, the NPP has nothing other than the usual slogans of battling corruption and minimising wastage, which definitely needs to be done once the country is at least put back on the right path.
Sri Lanka is in a race against time and the time required by Opposition parties to carry out their proposals to resolve the current crises is pushing the country further down the abyss.
It would have served better for the Opposition parties to first reach a consensus among themselves and with the group of independent MPs in the House on an alternative plan and then move an NCM after securing the required numbers for its passage.
However, President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Rajapaksa also need to do their part by taking steps to correct the mistakes that have been made by the Government since it assumed office. The two leaders need to take steps with regard to the mismanagement of macroeconomic policies and introduction of regressive legislation like the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. Taking action to introduce laws to repeal the 20th Amendment, abolish the executive presidency, and inquire into mismanagement and wastage could serve as confidence building measures where the public is concerned in the interim.
Sri Lanka is facing multiple crises at the moment. The fuel crisis will once again hit badly when the $ 500 million Indian credit line for fuel runs dry by the end of the month, as Sri Lanka has already utilised over half of the facility. The Government of Sri Lanka has already requested for the facility to be increased to $ 750 million but discussions are still ongoing. Even if the requested additional $ 250 million is granted, the fuel under the facility will be sufficient for less than a month.
The fuel crisis has had a huge toll on electricity generation and the return of the fuel crisis next month will result in an increase in the hours of the ongoing power cuts.
The depreciating rupee will have an adverse impact on all imports, especially on medicines and essential supplies. This is in the event there are actual imports given the low foreign reserves held by the country at present. It is learnt that there is currently a huge strain on the country’s banking system as well, especially on State banks, which are finding it increasingly difficult to honour commitments due to the forex crisis.
The country’s money printing record continues to push the increasing level of inflation. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) printed Rs. 119 billion on Wednesday (6), under CBSL Senior Deputy Governor Mahinda Siriwardana.
All in all, the country faces the risk of a total economic collapse by next month if urgent remedial measures are not taken.
The first is to initiate a staff level programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for urgent assistance for Sri Lanka. The next is to work out a proper plan to restructure debt and prepare the environment for an orderly default.
Prolonged political uncertainty amid the ongoing financial crisis in Sri Lanka could thwart attempts to obtain external financing from key development partners, Moody’s Investors Services said.
“Protracted political uncertainty is likely to hinder progress in obtaining external financing from key development partners or attracting foreign direct investment, or both, because of Sri Lanka’s reliance on capital inflows to repay its sizeable foreign-currency obligations,” the report said.
It is in this backdrop that, Finance Minister Ali Sabry, despite his move to resign from the portfolio last Tuesday (5), decided to continue in the portfolio after the President declined his resignation. Sabry’s main reason to stay in office was to discuss with the IMF as the IMF programme would be put on hold in the event the Fund did not have an office to engage with in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is to now hold a virtual meeting with the IMF tomorrow (11) and a letter of intent is to be presented afterwards.
A delegation including Sabry, Finance Ministry Secretary K.M. Mahinda Siriwardana and new Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, is to leave Sri Lanka to attend a five-day discussion with the IMF beginning on 18 April.
The current crisis faced by the country was summed up perfectly by Weerasinghe. He said in his maiden press briefing after assuming office that his primary task was to prevent the further downfall of the country. “I want to be very clear that my message is not one of blind positivity. Things are challenging and we need to take decisive action. Things will get worse before they get better, but we need to apply the brakes to this vehicle before it crashes,” he said.
President Rajapaksa also appointed a team of economic and fiscal experts as members of the Presidential Advisory Group on Multilateral Engagement and Debt Sustainability. The members of the Advisory Group are Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, who is also a former Head of the Economic Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat; Georgetown University Professor of the Practice of Development and former World Bank Chief Economist Prof. Shanta Devarajan; and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Institute for Capacity Development Director and former IMF Africa Department Deputy Director Dr. Sharmini Coorey.
Interestingly, while a new CBSL Governor was appointed last week, the Colombo Magistrate’s Court on Thursday (7) issued an order preventing former CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal from leaving the country on a complaint filed on the alleged misuse of public funds by Cabraal as the CBSL Governor. Summons were also issued on Cabraal to appear in court on 18 April.
RW’s proposal
On Friday (8) in Parliament members of the Government and Opposition held informal discussions regarding former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recommendation that the committee appointed to advise the Government on the IMF negotiations be given the mandate by Parliament to negotiate with the IMF on behalf of the country.
This, he said, would ensure IMF negotiations were not hindered by the political upheaval in the country. Factions of the Government and Opposition were agreeable to this proposal.
However Government MPs demanded that the efforts to abolish the presidency be halted in return and the Opposition was divided on this matter, with several MPs claiming that economic stability was the priority and others refusing to abandon these efforts.
Talks broke down at this point with neither side able to come to an agreement.
All-party interim govt.
The group of 10 (G-10) parties in the governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) alliance together with the main coalition partner of the Government, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and a group of SLPP MPs who declared independence from the Government met in Committee Room 7 in Parliament last Thursday (7).
The discussion was focused on the way forward from the current economic and political crisis. It was decided that there was an urgent need to bring political stability as an anarchical situation would further destroy the country which is already grappling with a massive economic crisis.
It was also discussed that the proposal of an all-party interim government that has been discussed and agreed by the 42 independent MPs in Parliament should be put down in writing to be presented to President Rajapaksa.
The group believes that presenting an alternative plan of governance before resorting to a NCM against the Government is needed to further give confidence to around 18 other SLPP MPs who have expressed willingness to join the group of independent MPs.
Accordingly, G-10 leaders Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila said they would put into a document the proposals agreed upon by all members of the group. Gammanpila immediately typed the document on his tab and the draft was shared among the group.
The document made 11 proposals and key among them were the appointment of a National Executive Council consisting of all party leaders in Parliament. This Council is to decide on the prime ministers and cabinet ministers of the interim government. The Council will be the main decision-making body.
However, the entire group of 14 SLFP MPs was not present at this meeting and SLFP Leader, former President Maithripala Sirisena informed the G-10 leaders that they were to meet at 5 p.m. at his residence and it would be good for all to meet. Weerawansa and Gammanpila arrived at Sirisena’s Paget Road residence where they discussed the draft set of proposals with the rest of the SLFP group.
SLFP MPs Duminda Dissanayake and Dayasiri Jayasekara asked if it was alright to show the document to SJB MPs Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara, whom they were to meet later that night. Weerawansa and Gammanpila agreed, saying it was perfectly fine as they needed more support for the all-party interim government since it was an inclusive mechanism.
Dissanayake and Jayasekara met with Fernando and Nanayakkara at 10 p.m. on Thursday and after the meeting informed Gammanpila that there were some proposals by the SJB MPs after looking at the document.
Discussion with SJB
Meanwhile, MPs Gammanpila, Tiran Alles, and Jayantha Samaraweera met with Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa and SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara at the Opposition Leader’s Office to discuss the proposed document on forming an all-party interim government.
The independent MPs requested Premadasa and the SJB to support the move for an all-party interim government as a transition mechanism until a general election could be held. Premadasa, however, asked the group of MPs about their thoughts on moving an NCM against the Government.
The group of MPs responded saying it would be a disastrous move without having an alternative proposal in place. “It could lead to anarchy without an alternative proposal in place and some governing party MPs who have agreed to support us could change their minds and support the Government because they are afraid of elections at present,” Gammanpila explained.
The G-10 members reiterated that moving an NCM at the current time without an agreement on an interim government would be detrimental to the country. Premadasa did not respond to the observation by the group of MPs and the meeting had concluded without reaching a final decision.
The proposal sent to the President was signed by SLFP Leader Sirisena and MP Nanayakkara on behalf of G-10, MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa on behalf of the independent SLPP group, and MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe.
SJB’s no faith motion
While the independent MPs pushed for an alternative proposal to address the current political crisis in the form of an all-party interim government, the SJB last Friday (8) decided to move ahead with its planned NCM against the Government.
However, the SJB’s move seems ill-timed given that its move for an NCM has been mooted without an alternative proposal and purely on the premise that the independent group of MPs would not have any other choice but to support it.
For a party that touts consultations and democratic actions, the SJB leaders have failed to hold any form of consultations on the matter with the group of independent MPs in Parliament. The SJB MPs who have so far spoken to the group of independent MPs have expressed their agreement in principle to the proposal of an all-party interim government. Nevertheless, it now seems like several party members have convinced the party leadership that the NCM is the right move at this time – without actually securing the numbers.
As of now, the NCM will not receive the required 113 for passage in Parliament even with the SJB, 42 independent MPs, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), and United National Party (UNP) votes. The SJB will require more numbers from the SLPP to pass the NCM in the House.
In effect, the SJB action will unwittingly be an opportunity for the governing SLPP to show its numbers in the House, which it could build up to 117 votes in the event the other silent SLPP members waiting to defect decide to stay on given the possible repercussions of an unplanned NCM brought without proper consultation or an alternative plan other than saying, “we have the solutions”.
It would have been wise for the SJB leadership to have given the lead to the likes of MP Harsha de Silva to steer the party through these unique times.
The SJB began its discussion on proposed solutions to the political crisis by stating last Sunday (3) that the party was in discussions with a number of political parties, organisations, and individuals on the next steps to be taken, with priority being given to revoke the 20th Amendment from the Constitution.
“We are going step by step. We are telling those who are saying that they are opposed to the Government, but within the Government, ‘let’s get together and vote against the 20th Amendment’. That is step one. Then we can see whether all these people who professed to be against the Government are actually against the Government,” SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne told The Morning.
“Today, a lot of the Opposition came together and discussed it. We will build on that,” Wickramaratne had said, adding, “Ultimately, we are the alternative government – we are doing our homework. We have two main objectives: in the short term how to end the queues and secondly, how to reform the economy and make some hard decisions.”
The SJB has appointed a four-member committee to reach out to political parties, organisations, and individuals who are not sitting with the SJB. The four-member committee includes MPs Tissa Attanayake, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Kabir Hashim, and Eran Wickramaratne.
Governing party meeting
The governing SLPP group meeting was held on Monday (4) and the SLFP was represented by Amaraweera, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dissanayake, Angajan Ramanathan, and Chamara Dassanayake.
A question was posed as to whether the SLFP was resigning from the Government. Amaraweera said that the party’s parliamentary group would meet and decide on the stance. However, Dissanayake announced on Monday evening that he and Alagiyawanna had tendered their resignations from their State ministerial portfolios.
On Tuesday (5) morning, a group of SLPP MPs led by Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, that included Susil Premajayantha, John Seneviratne, Nimal Lanza, Sudharshani Fernandopulle, Chandima Weerakkody, Nalin Fernando, Priyankara Jayaratne, and Jayaratne Herath, announced that they would be sitting independently.
The G-10 also announced officially that 16 MPs of its group would continue to function independently.
SLFP Leader Sirisena announced that the party’s 14-member parliamentary group would function independently in the future.
The Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) also announced on Tuesday its decision to function independently, hence the two CWC representatives in the House became independent and MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who declared independence some time back, also reiterated his stance.
A total of 42 governing party parliamentarians declared independence on Tuesday.
Another SLPP group meeting was held at Temple Trees on Tuesday evening and the governing party MPs joined the meeting in a good mood, stating that the G-10, the SLFP group led by Sirisena, and the SLPP independent group led by Yapa had failed to show a majority in Parliament.
The MPs were asked to join the meeting saying it was going to be a brief one.
It was former Finance Minister Rajapaksa who made a morale-boosting speech to those gathered. He claimed that all issues currently faced by the Government would be resolved in two weeks: “I say with responsibility that the current issues will be resolved in two weeks.”
While there were some who accepted Basil’s statement, there were others who seemed to need more convincing on the matter.
The ongoing public protests in the country were also taken up for discussion and several members noted that these protests needed to be suppressed as they were affecting the country’s stability and also threatened the lives of Government members. Along with this, there was also a question whether the Government was confident of the support of the Police and armed forces given the growing public protests.
However, it was believed that the protests would see a decline in the next few days with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holidays.
Emergency conundrum
Despite the governing party claiming it still had a majority in Parliament, the President, it seems, does not wish to put it to the test. The revoking of emergency regulations on Tuesday (5), when the regulations were to be tabled in the House and taken up for a vote, seems a move by the President to not test the governing party’s strength in the House.
The decision to revoke the regulations was in fact taken after the President’s meeting with the SLFP and a group of SLPP MPs who had declared independence in the House last Tuesday evening.
The meetings took place separately and one of the key requests by the President from the two groups was to not push the Government into a difficult situation despite the decision to sit independently.
The 14 SLFP MPs explained to President Rajapaksa during their three-hour meeting the issues faced by the people, the continuous requests and pleas of the SLFP members that were not heeded, and the crisis situation in the country. Both groups informed the President that they would not vote in favour of emergency regulations in Parliament.
President Rajapaksa on 1 April declared a State of Public Emergency in the country and on 2 April issued a gazette declaring a curfew under Section 16 of the Public Security Ordinance, declaring that no person shall be on any public road, railway, public park, public recreation ground or other public ground, or the seashore in such areas, from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Monday (4), except under the authority of a written permit granted by the Defence Ministry, Public Security Ministry, or the Inspector General of Police or any officer authorised by them.
How it all started
Seeing signs of the intensifying crisis amidst a growing public protest, the President last Sunday (3) met with members of the G-10 at the Presidential Secretariat.
At the outset of the meeting, Weerawansa explained the crisis faced by the country and the growing political crisis as a result. He also explained to the President that the Government was facing a risk of further losing its majority in Parliament after losing its two-thirds majority following the decision of the G-10 to sit independently in the House.
During the discussion, the G-10 proposed the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers, but did not specify the resignation of Prime Minister Rajapaksa.
President Rajapaksa further inquired from Weerawansa about his statement on the Government losing its majority. The response to the President was that there were over 50 MPs in the Government who had expressed solidarity with the G-10’s plan.
Weerawansa and Gammanpila explained that then Finance Minister Rajapaksa had failed to address the crisis and that this had further compounded the situation as a result. The G-10 leaders noted that the immediate resignation of the Finance Minister was essential for the government to face the growing public dissent.
Weerawansa and Gammanpila also raised the issue of Finance Minister Rajapaksa’s resignation during their meeting with Prime Minister Rajapaksa the previous day, Saturday (2) as well. They proposed that the need of the hour was to appoint an interim government consisting of members of all parties represented in Parliament to control the crisis and bring some normalcy to the country and then hold General Elections afterwards.
One key condition of the G-10 was that there could not be any member of the Rajapaksa family in the new cabinet or holding State ministerial portfolios. The President responded saying that he was prepared to explore options with all parties in Parliament.
Basil says ‘no’
During the discussion with the Prime Minister, the G-10 leaders observed that Basil’s resignation could provide some temporary respite to the growing crisis.
President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Rajapaksa on Saturday (2) night had then sent two of their nephews – Shameendra Rajapaksa (Shasheendra Rajapaksa’s brother) and Malaka Chandrasena – to meet with Basil.
The two young emissaries were to request Basil, on behalf of the President and Prime Minister, to consider handing in his resignation to quell the growing protests. Basil’s response had been a firm ‘no’ and he had questioned as to why he had to tender his resignation. Basil’s message was then conveyed to the President and Prime Minister.
By Sunday (3) evening, the President and Prime Minister were exploring all possible options to address the crisis. In short, the two leaders were back at square one.
MR ready to resign
While the discussion was focused on exploring solutions to the crisis, Prime Minister Rajapaksa noted that there was only one solution left and that was for him (the Prime Minister) to tender his resignation. The Premier explained to the President that the Cabinet would stand dissolved when he resigned and the President could then work on forming an all-party interim government.
This, Prime Minister Rajapaksa noted, would also resolve the issue with Basil as his portfolio would automatically become vacant without him resigning or being sacked.
On Sunday evening, the Prime Minister informed his Chief of Staff Yoshitha Rajapaksa and several other family members that since Basil had said he was not prepared to step down, he (Mahinda) would resign. The Premier was asked by his family members to think twice before resigning as the public’s call for resignation was not directed at him but at the President.
However, the Prime Minister said he had made up his mind and that he was prepared to resign. He also issued directives for the resignation letter to be drafted.
Convincing MR
In the meantime, news of the Prime Minister’s impending resignation was revealed by several media outlets. The news was also heard by former Minister Prasanna Ranatunga and Chief Government Whip Minister Johnston Fernando.
Fernando and Ranatunga immediately made their way to Temple Trees to meet the Prime Minister. They asked Rajapaksa not to be in a haste to resign.
The Premier explained to them that there was a crisis that needed to be resolved and with Basil refusing to resign and the President being convinced by the G-10 that the Government did not hold a majority in the House, there was no other option but to resign and let the President appoint an all-party interim cabinet.
Fernando, however, did not agree with the Prime Minister. “That is a complete lie. We still have a majority in the House. If they (G-10) have the majority as they claim, they can show it in Parliament during sessions on Tuesday (5). Let’s see how many people are actually there in this independent group,” the Chief Government Whip claimed.
Ranatunga also agreed with Fernando and asked the Prime Minister not to submit his resignation.
The duo (Fernando and Ranatunga) together with former Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena, who was also in the Prime Minister’s office at the time, had convinced the Prime Minister that he should not resign and that if there was an absolute necessity, the rest of the Cabinet would tender their resignations as it would compel the Finance Minister to also submit his resignation.
SLFP meets separately
While the G-10 met with the President and Prime Minister, the SLFP parliamentary group also met separately last Saturday (2) and Sunday (3) to discuss the growing political crisis and the party’s stance.
The SLFP seniors discussed the emergency regulations that were evoked and the ad hoc measures being taken to control the growing public outcry. They also looked at the Government’s statement that the fuel crisis would be resolved in the coming months due to the Indian fuel credit line. “This is also a temporary measure. There’s no plan on prioritising the fuel supply. If the supply is focused on power generation, then what about the transport sector?” SLFP’s Duminda Dissanayake noted.
SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara also claimed that the people had now spoken and the party should also listen to their claims without turning a blind eye to it like the Government. He proposed that the SLFP also join with the G-10 and become independent in Parliament after resigning from ministerial portfolios.
However, several SLFP members like Nimal Siripala de Silva, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, and Dissanayake noted that joining the G-10 was not the best decision at the time as the party was already in discussion with a group of senior SLPP members, who had expressed their desire to leave the Government.
“These senior SLPPers might not feel comfortable to sit with the G-10, and if we join the G-10, they will feel left out. We need to look at maybe sitting independently as a party so that they (the senior SLPPers) can also sit independently in the House,” Mahinda Amaraweera explained.
This discussion took place during last weekend and on Sunday (3), a group of senior SLFPers met with the SLPP group led by Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. They too expressed their willingness to sit independently in the House.
The SLFP and the SLPP group decided that they would hold two separate press conferences – the SLFP on Tuesday (5) and the SLPP group on Wednesday (6) – to announce their decisions to sit independently in the House.
It was also decided that the three SLFP State Ministers – Jayasekara, Dissanayake, and Alagiyawanna – would announce their resignation from the Government at the Tuesday press conference.
Dayasiri objects
However, Jayasekara was of the view that all members of the SLFP holding ministerial portfolios in the Government should submit their resignations with immediate effect on Sunday (3). The rest of the SLFP parliamentary group, including Party Leader Maithripala Sirisena, noted that they should all follow the agreement reached with the SLPP group.
Jayasekara continued to air his views against the SLPP group, saying that there would be chaos in the party if members of the SLPP group were to return to the SLFP after defecting from the party to join the SLPP in the first place. “If they return, what will happen to the SLFP members who remained with the party after they defected? It is not fair to give them prominence,” Jayasekara opined.
“This is not about party seniority or who will lose their place in the party if more senior members return to the party fold,” Amaraweera said.
By this time, the SLFP MPs also heard of Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s impending resignation and Jayasekara reiterated that the SLFP Ministers should immediately tender their resignations. The rest of the parliamentary group stated that the party has already reached an understanding with the G-10 and the SLPP group and should therefore follow the plan.
Meanwhile, former Ministers de Silva and Amaraweera were asked to attend a meeting of Cabinet Ministers convened at Temple Trees that evening.
The SLFP parliamentary group then decided that the party’s two Cabinet Ministers should tender their resignations at that evening’s Cabinet meeting and the State Ministers should resign on Tuesday.
Cabinet before resignations
The meeting of Cabinet members was chaired by President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Rajapaksa. Several other SLPP members including Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, State Minister D.V. Chanaka, and MP Premanath Dolawattte were also present at the meeting. Former CBSL Governor Cabraal was also present at the meeting.
The meeting turned out to be an action-packed one filled with charges and counter charges and lasted till around 12 midnight on Sunday (3).
The President explained the crisis that had befallen the Government and the need to find urgent solutions for the political crisis due to its adverse impact on the crumbling economy.
When the matter of resignations was taken up, several ministers including Sarath Weerasekera noted that there was no reason for the Cabinet to resign. Basil then said that while there was no need for anyone to resign and that he was prepared to resign on behalf of all Rajapaksas if it would resolve the ongoing crisis.
Former Ministers Pavithra Wanniarachchi and Abeygunawardena objected to Basil’s resignation, saying he should not resign. “We will resign instead,” they claimed.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa then noted that political crises were part and parcel of politics and Sri Lanka had witnessed crises during the tenures of the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. “It is how we manage the crisis that is important,” the Prime Minister said.
Several former ministers then had a go at former CBSL Governor Cabraal. The most vociferous critic was incumbent Finance Minister Ali Sabry.
Sabry clashed with Cabraal, claiming that his failures had brought the country to its current state. “You were told to go to the IMF last year but you didn’t and now the economic crisis has snowballed,” he claimed, adding that the nation had been robbed by the likes of Cabraal.
Former Minister Ramesh Pathirana also clashed with Cabraal, saying that the failure to address the macroeconomic issues and to listen to the people had caused the current crises.
The next clash was between former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Basil. The heated exchange of words even resulted in Aluthgamage standing up and trying to leave the meeting room. He was held back by several of his colleagues at the meeting.
The clash broke out when Aluthgamage claimed that the finance sector of the Government had failed, taking a direct swipe at Basil. The discussion at the time was focused on the Government’s failure to pay for a fuel shipment that had arrived in the country and had been anchored awaiting payment for over two weeks.
Basil responded saying that the commercial fuel shipment in question had been brought down at a time when arrangements had already been made to get down fuel shipments to the country under the Indian credit line for fuel. “It was done for commissions. People who are making critical comments should look at who is behind this commercial fuel shipment,” he said, adding that there was also a controversy over commissions for fertiliser that was imported to the country (a swipe at Aluthgamage who held the agriculture portfolio).
Aluthgamage claimed that there was no issue of commissions over the imported fertiliser shipments and that everyone knew who had taken commissions for what purpose.
The discussion was then diverted to issues related to the conduct of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman, especially with regard to distribution issues and corruption. Several ministers opined that the CPC Chairman should be replaced if he had failed in his duties.
Aluthgamage also informed the meeting that there was a group of SLPP members who were planning on leaving the Government and becoming independent in Parliament. “That is not good. We should not allow the Government side to lose members. I will speak to all of them,” Prime Minister Rajapaksa responded.
He added that even the SLFP has decided to sit independently and the party’s General Secretary Jayasekara had publicly made announcements to the effect. “There is no such decision yet. Whatever the decision reached by the SLFP will be as a team,” Amaraweera said.
Speaker Abeywardena proposed that the Government could announce that it was willing to let go of its positions to any party that showed the majority in Parliament. “This is the only way we can resolve this issue.”
Pathirana also said that the Cabinet should resign. “Let anyone who can resolve these issues take it from here on,” he said.
However, Prime Minister Rajapaksa did not agree with the move and recounted past experiences of many governing party members following the 2015 Elections.
Former Minister Namal Rajapaksa noted that none of the proposals being discussed at the meeting would resolve the ongoing crisis. “All this is only going to make matters worse. I say that we all resign,” he said, and then posted on his social media about his decision to resign from the Cabinet.
Former Minister de Silva, speaking on behalf of the two SLFP ministers in the Cabinet, said that he and Amaraweera would also resign from the Cabinet. These moves prompted the other Cabinet Ministers to also agree to resign and 15 ministers who were present at the meeting resigned from the Cabinet.
CBSL Governor Cabraal also resigned on Monday (4), stating that he too was resigning since the Cabinet of Ministers had tendered their resignations.
Clash in the SLFP
Meanwhile, there was a clash brewing in the SLFP following Jayasekara’s unilateral decision to resign from his State ministerial portfolio on Monday (4) when the other two State ministers Dissanayake and Alagiyawanna were to tender their resignation after the press conference on Tuesday (5).
It is learnt that Jayasekara was of the view that the SLFP should tender its resignation and announce its decision to sit independently prior to a possible resignation by Prime Minister Rajapaksa.
By Sunday evening there was confusion over the Prime Minister’s stance since reports of the developments that took place following Premier Rajapaksa’s decision to resign were not fully known even by night. Although there were reports of the Prime Minister deciding not to submit his resignation, there were still doubts in political circles as to whether the resignation would take place after the meeting of Cabinet Ministers on Sunday night.
Jayasekara and Sirisena had both tried to connect with Amaraweera during the Sunday night meeting at Temple Trees to receive confirmation on the Prime Minister’s stance. However, Amaraweera was unable to answer the telephone calls due to the intensity of the meeting.
Nevertheless, Amaraweera, after briefing Sirisena about the meeting following its conclusion, had returned Jayasekara’s telephone call. When Jayasekara questioned whether the Prime Minister was resigning, Amaraweera said there was no such move and explained that only Cabinet Ministers had tendered their resignation. Amaraweera noted that as discussed and agreed at the SLFP parliamentary group meeting that evening, de Silva and he had tendered their resignations and that the State ministers could resign after the press conference.
Jayasekara then stated that he had already submitted his resignation and that it had been publicised in the media. Amaraweera was surprised and noted that Jayasekara’s move was a foolish one that had compromised the party’s plans.
Hearing of Jayasekara’s actions, the rest of the members of the SLFP parliamentary group including Party Leader Sirisena were livid that Jayasekara had acted in such an ‘irresponsible’ manner.
On Monday (4) morning, all hell broke loose in the SLFP parliamentary group. Jayasekara faced the firing squad in the form of the parliamentary group. Even the Party Leader questioned as to why he had resorted to such an action after the party decided to act within 48 hours.
MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, after shouting at Jayasekara, even tried to assault him. All members of the parliamentary group claimed that they did not have faith to work with Jayasekara as he did not possess the discipline to act as a team.
Dissanayake and Alagiyawanna explained that no one person should try to outshine others when working as a team and that it was important to increase the strength of the team with more members joining it.
Finally, the parliamentary group claimed that they would not sit at the press conference organised by the party if Jayasekara were to attend it.