• No SJB decision yet on expelling Rajit

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Opposition Parliamentarian (MP) Nalin Bandara Jayamaha yesterday (10) claimed that there is strong opposition from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Party MPs to SJB MP Dr. Rajitha Senaratne possibly joining the Government and that this opposition has caused the delay of his crossover.

Speaking at a media briefing held at the SJB Head Office, he also said that no crossover can break the SJB into parts. “Senaratne has crossed the Floor several times. He is not someone who has not changed parties. So, it is nothing new for him. The other thing is that Senaratne is not a frontrunner of our Party. Senaratne has been trying to join the Government since the day Ranil Wickremesinghe became the President. My opinion is that Senaratne joining the Government will not make our Party weak. The other fact is that because of the behaviour of Senaratne, we lost our votes in some cases,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, the SJB has not decided yet as to whether Senaratne should be expelled from the Party due to his recent behaviour against the Party discipline, The Daily Morning learned. Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday, SJB National Organiser and MP Tissa Attanayake said that the SJB has not yet taken a decision to take disciplinary action against Senaratne or any member of the Party even though several MPs had claimed that Senaratne is to be expelled from the Party. “There are issues regarding the behaviour of Senaratne which can be harmful to the Party. But, as a Party, we have to make a decision on this after having a proper discussion. The MPs had raised this issue on several occasions. It had been mentioned that a disciplinary committee should make a decision on those who were involved in misbehaviour, in violating the disciplinary code of the Party. Such a decision has not yet been taken,” he said.

Speaking further, he mentioned that whatever decision is made, the Party will not be divided or destroyed. “The Party will take a decision in this regard in the future. My personal belief is that a decision should not be harmful to the existence of the Party. We hope to decide as soon as possible so that we can move forward very quickly. Also, all the members of the Party should cooperate with each other without having quarrels,” he said.

It is reported that the Party has decided to appoint a committee to look into disciplinary action against Senaratne. Meanwhile, the Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa had announced that Party members who try to divide and destroy the SJB will be brought before a disciplinary committee.

There were rumours that Dr. Senaratne would support the Government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Previously, several MPs who were elected to the Parliament representing the SJB, joined the current Government and assumed Ministerial positions. Among them are SJB National List MP Diana Gamage, who supported the Government since the time of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and later crossed over and became the State Minister of Tourism, and MPs Manusha Nanayakkara and Harin Fernando, who assumed the portfolios of Labour and Foreign Employment Minister, and Tourism and Lands Minister, respectively, after Wickremesinghe’s appointment as the Prime Minister under Rajapaksa’s Presidency.

Several attempts made by The Daily Morning to contact MP Senaratne proved futile.