• Some MPs who took up ministries in fear, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera claims
• GL ready to challenge any SLPP action in court   

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, who lost his membership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) for supporting the Government and accepting a ministerial portfolio, said yesterday (9) that a number of parliamentarians who crossed over are now experiencing shock over the Supreme Court (SC) ruling which upheld the decision of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to revoke the party membership of current Environment Minister Naseer Ahamed.

The SC, in its ruling with regard to a petition filed by Ahamed challenging the SLMC’s decision to expel him from the party, deemed the SLMC’s decision as valid and lawful.

Commenting on the matter to the media yesterday, Amaraweera said that many MPs who crossed over to other parties are in shock over the SC ruling. Noting that some such MPs hold ministerial positions at present, he said that they are in fear of losing their ministerial positions as well as parliamentary seats. “Due to this ruling, those who were about to switch their parties are scared. They will think about it not twice but several times,” he said.

The media queried as to whether he, who supported the Government and accepted a ministerial post, thereby going against the SLFP’s decision not to do so, was not afraid, to which he said: “No, I did not change my party. We were, are, and will be in the SLFP. None of us left the party, so we have no fear at all. We were always with the SLFP. The decision to support the Government was taken by the SLFP’s Central Committee (the SLFP earlier supported the Government led by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, but later resorted to functioning as an Opposition group in Parliament).”

During a media briefing yesterday, the media queried former Government MP and incumbent Opposition MP Prof. G.L. Peiris as to whether the SC ruling would have an impact on others who crossed over in the recent past. In reply, he said: “This ruling has no effect on the others. This is a totally different scenario. There are about 25 MPs of our nature, and there is no effect on them. However, if the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (the party from which he was elected to Parliament) takes a certain action, we will strongly respond to such, but we will do it at the right time and place. We will present our stance before the courts.”

The SLMC’s decision to expel Ahamed, who is also the party’s Deputy Leader, came after he had voted in favour of the third reading of the Budget for the year 2022, in December 2021. He had since been working in support of the Governments led by Rajapaksa and incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The SLMC’s relevant hierarchy had then decided to revoke Ahamed’s party membership. There are several others who crossed over from the Opposition to the Government, and vice versa, and others who left their political parties and currently function as “independent” MPs.