16 SLFP Ministers and MPs ready to leave Government

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Sixteen ministers and MPs representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party have informed President Maithripala Sirisena that they are prepared to leave their posts and withdraw from the government. The sixteen members are the MPs who voted in favor of the no-confidence motion presented against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Twenty-six others including the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom party, as well as the General Secretary of the United People's Alliance were absent for the vote. Speaking to media General Secretary of UPFA, Mahinda Amaraweera, said "When we met the president in the morning, it was decided as a party to refrain from casting the vote. At the meeting on the 2nd, I said if we are casting the vote we should resign from our ministerial positions. That morning they said the group was not adequate. This was said by the group led by Minister S. B. Dissanayake and Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala. It was then that we decided to abstain during the vote." Following the conclusion of the motion of no-confidence against the prime minister, twenty-one UNP backbench parliamentarians presented a motion of no-confidence against the sixteen SLFP members who voted in favour of the no-confidence motion. Though the motion was handed over to the speaker yesterday (April 6), it was reported last evening that the Prime Minister had instructed to withdraw the motion. In a media release sent out by the Director General of Government Information, it was stated that the Prime Minister had said that a parliamentary group meeting should have been held before handing over such a letter. However, the sixteen SLFP members are of the stance that the no-confidence motion against them should be debated in parliament. The Central Committee of the SLFP will meet on Monday (April 9), and the matter is expected to be discussed during the meeting.