• Tell Party leadership to get reality check  

The main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) Parliamentary backbenchers said that they are ready to welcome talented and clean newcomers despite the various allegations made by some senior members of the Party.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (7), SJB Parliamentarian Thushara Indunil Amarasena said that the backbenchers believe that various groups of people and individuals must get together to make the Party stronger and therefore, the Party cannot not welcome the distinguished personalities who wish to join the Party. He also noted that senior members of the Party should be much more disciplined when making comments on the decisions and efforts made by the Party leadership to strengthen the Party and stated that those members should understand that politics is a collective activity. “Sometimes, we have to get together with rivals. Sometimes, we have to fight with our friends. That is politics. This should be understood by anyone who does politics,” he said. When he was queried about the statements made by the Party's Chairman, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, regarding the Party’s principles for newcomers, Amarasena said that the backbenchers are greatly disappointed about those statements made by MP Fonseka being the Chairman of the Party and said that those statements would badly affect the Party’s harmony. “We made him the Party Chairman, honouring him as a senior war hero. But, such statements cannot be accepted. We should be humble enough to welcome the new ones. As backbenchers, we are ready to welcome any talented and clean people,” he added.

Following former Army Commander, General (Retired) Daya Ratnayake being given the membership of the SJB by Party and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, MP Fonseka, criticising the said decision, noted that the SJB leadership must understand what the public expectations are when accommodating new members to the Party. Several SJB MPs had subsequently criticised Fonseka's statement, claiming that making such comments on the Party’s internal affairs would harm the Party.