Following several Opposition Parliamentarians of the main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), reportedly receiving Rs. 50 million each from the Government’s decentralised budget, the MPs who received funds claimed that approval of the Party is not required to obtain the funds as it has been a tradition for years to allocate funds for Opposition MPs.
Speaking to the media, SJB General Secretary and Opposition MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara, said that the MPs in question have not obtained the Party’s approval before receiving the funds, noting that the matter is to be raised at the upcoming meeting of the Party’s group of MPs.
When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (22), SJB Opposition MP Gayantha Karunatilleka, whose name is also among those who reportedly received the funds, said that MPs do not receive the funds personally, but through the Divisional Secretariats (DSs), to carry out the prospective projects submitted by each MP. Stating that this practice has been a tradition for many years, he noted that accordingly, Opposition MPs are given funds from the decentralised Budget.
“This needs no permission from the political parties. Each individual MP has the right to submit proposals, and accordingly, they will receive funds. The funds are allocated to DSs, not individuals,” he added. Adding that the proposals were submitted solely for the benefit of the people, MP Karunatilleka said that no SJB MP will cross the floor because they received these funds.
“Someone can think that we are given these funds because of the connections that we have with the President. But, there is no such thing behind this. Every MP is entitled to these funds. Earlier, the Government blamed us for not submitting proposals. Therefore, we submitted our proposals,” he noted.
Even though the previous Governments used to allocate funds to Opposition MPs to carry out development projects, such allocations have not taken place for the past five years owing to the economic crisis. Yet, the incumbent Government has made allocations for several SJB MPs, including Karunatilleka, Dr. Harsha de Silva, Ajith Mannapperuma, Dr. Kavinda Heshan Jayawardhana and J.C. Alawathuwala.
Madduma Bandara was unavailable for comment.