• Gen. Secy. says party yet undecided on response 
• Weighs options ahead of final position 

The ruling National People's Power (NPP) is yet to make a decision on how it will respond to the no-confidence motion (NCM) brought against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, its General Secretary and Government Parliamentarian Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe said.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (2), he said the Party had not reached a final position and is still weighing its options. “We’ll see how it goes. There is some time. We have not made a decision yet. We know that there is a moral issue, and we are considering what we need to do,” he said.

The remarks come after Opposition MPs handed over an NCM against Jayakody to the Speaker of Parliament a few days ago. The motion alleges that Jayakody failed in his primary responsibility to ensure the procurement of sufficient quantities of quality coal for the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai. It claims that this failure amounts to gross negligence in overseeing a critical national energy asset and constitutes a fundamental breach of Ministerial responsibility. 

Opposition MPs have also pointed out that Jayakody has been formally charged in the Colombo High Court by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption under the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 09 of 2023. The charge relates to an alleged act of corruption that is said to have taken place during his tenure as the Procurement Manager of the Ceylon Fertiliser Company Limited.

Parliament has scheduled the debate on the NCM for 10 April. The debate is set to take place from 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.