At the cabinet meeting held today, UNP Ministers of the cabinet had requested their SLFP counterparts to present their stance on the upcoming no confidence vote against Prime Minister and Leader of the UNP, Ranil Wickramasinghe.
“Not sure if our official stance will fall in line with that of others, so ask SB or Susil” - Minister Vijith Wijayamuni Zoysa
While the UNP group had first questioned Duminda Dissanayake of the SLFP, however Vijith Wijayamuni Zoysa had asked them to direct the question to S.B Dissanayake or Susil Premajayantha instead as it is they had been making statements to the media in this regard recently. He had gone on to say that if not they were capable of claiming that his or Duminda’s opinion on the matter is not the official stance of the party.
“I am not the SLFP spokesman, ask Minister Susil or Nimal” - Minister S.B Dissanayake
The UNP Ministers had then gone on to ask S.B Dissanayake of the official party decision regarding the no confidence vote. While the PM had then arrived at the meeting, the UNP Ministers had asked S.B to reveal their stance in front of the PM it self.
However S.B claiming he is not the SLFP spokesperson had instead directed the question to Susil Premajayantha who had avoided answering in the end leaving Minister Nimal Siripala Silva to face the barrage of questions.
“There is a common call for you to resign Prime Minister but in no way is it a personal opinion only” - Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva
Answering the queries Nimal Siripala had claimed the official stance of the SLFP is that the PM should resign prior to the no confidence vote. The Minister had gone on stress this is not a personal opinion of one individual but the collective understanding of the party.
If that is your stance then listen to ours as well! There will be no resignation! We will ensure the win of the government and the PM! - Minister Mangala Samaraweera
Minister Mangala is said to have wanted to present the UNP party stance after the reply but then had gone on to request the PM to present it instead. However the PM had asked Mangala to go ahead.
“The no confidence vote is not only against the PM but against the whole government” he had said adding that therefore their aim is to defeat it. “We will protect the government and PM unconditionally” he had said.
The Minister had also claimed that therefore there will be no resignation as requested by the SLFP and left the meeting.
Sources say that following this incident Minister Zoysa was heard saying that some talk shop but are afraid to state their decisions when confronted.
However despite claims by Minister De Silva, sources say the SLFP is still not in a collective stance about the vote with some Ministers are said to be of the opinion that the vote must be defeated.
The SLFP group is set to meet the President once more today sources claim.
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