• Ranil seeks to amend SJB motion to cover entire Cabinet
• SJB slams move, decides to stick to original scope
• SLPP to back Gammanpila in vote today: Sagara

BY Pamodi Waravita The Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) criticised United National Party (UNP) Leader and parliamentarian Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (19) for proposing an amendment to the no-confidence motion against Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila to make it cover the entire Cabinet, alleging it was aimed at helping the Government. The two-day debate on the no-confidence motion against Gammanpila, moved by SJB MP S.M. Marikkar, began yesterday. In a letter to Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dassanayake yesterday, Wickremesinghe proposed two amendments to the no-confidence motion tabled by the Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) to the effect that the Parliament resolves that it has no confidence in all the Cabinet Ministers. Responding to the amendments in Parliament, Chaminda Wijeyasiri alleged that Wickremesinghe was trying to help the Government and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam. “Mr. Kariyawasam, now you can escape, thanks to Ranil Wickremesinghe. Now you can say that what Gammanpila did was wrong, but since the amendment proposed by Ranil Wickremesinghe covers the entire Government, I have to vote against the no-confidence motion. You can save face like that. However, there is nobody in the Sajith Premadasa camp who strikes political deals like that,” he charged. The SJB has decided to disregard Wickremesinghe’s amendments and proceed today (20) on the vote of its original motion against Gammanpila. Speaking to The Morning yesterday, SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne said the amendments introduced by Wickremesinghe do not affect the no-confidence motion filed against Gammanpila. “The significance of the motion is to show the adverse effects of the fuel hike price,” added Wickramaratne. The no-confidence motion notes that Gammanpila has not obtained approval from the Cabinet for the recent fuel hike, alleges that he has not used the profits earned by the Government when the price of fuel was falling to rescue the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) from indebtedness to state banks, and that he has failed in his capacity as the Energy Minister. “It was a sin for Gammanpila to unfairly increase the price of fuel at a moment when the public is suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2018, when a barrel of crude oil was $ 79, our government at the time gave petrol at Rs. 138 a litre. In April last year, when crude oil fell to $ 19 a barrel, this Government did not give that profit to the public. In the past year, the CPC gained a huge profit. Since the price of fuel did not decrease during last year, the Indian Oil Company (IOC) gained a large profit as well, for which this patriotic Energy Minister paved the way,” said Marikkar in Parliament, moving the motion. Meanwhile, addressing a press conference held yesterday, the main ruling party, the SLPP, confirmed that it would not support the no-confidence motion, despite previous calls by the party for Gammanpila’s resignation. “We informed the party’s stance on the matter at the time. Although we called for the resignation of Gammanpila at the time, we would not support his removal at the whim of the Opposition. If he wants to resign, that is a different issue. As a party, we decided on 18 July that we would not support the said no-confidence motion,” said SLPP General Secretary Kariyawasam. Following the decision to increase retail fuel prices, the SLPP issued a statement signed by Kariyawasam on 12 June, slamming Gammanpila. “At a time when people are facing a difficult time period, the subject minister must be held responsible for the increase of fuel prices and he should resign after taking the responsibility for creating such a situation,” the statement said. The statement also said that the Government is greatly concerned about the price hike during this difficult and uncertain time. “When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is facing many obstacles for the development of the country, action must be taken against those who deliberately make detrimental decisions to our party and its leaders,” the SLPP said. However, in response to a question by a journalist, Kariyawasam said yesterday that the opposition to the fuel hike at the time was not a “scripted drama” and merely an expression of the voice of SLPP representatives. According to Kariyawasam, the SLPP would, therefore, vote against the motion. Gammanpila responded by saying that he only announced a decision taken by the entire Government with the approval of the President and Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa. He added that the President as well as the Premier had exchanged views with him regarding the incident.