Joint Opposition invites anti-UNPers to vote on Ravi’s no-confidence motion

By Chamodi Gunawardana

The Joint Opposition yesterday called on all anti-UNPers in the Government to support the no-faith motion it expects to submit to Parliament against Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake next week.

Speaking at a media briefing, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Parliamentarian C.B. Rathnayake said the Joint Opposition hoped to put forward the no-confidence motion on Karunanayake when Parliament next assembles on 6 June. 

“The majority of the Joint Opposition will definitely vote for the motion when it is tabled. We would like to openly invite all SLFPers in the Government to join hands with us to pass it in the country’s interest,” he noted.

Outlining the reasons to lodge a no-faith motion against Karunanayake, Rathnayake said the Finance Minister’s “failures” to manage the economy were the main reasons behind the no-confidence motion. 

“The Sri Lankan economy has been collapsing due to the Minister’s management errors and he tried to overcome the debt trap by imposing unreasonable taxes. Meanwhile, the Government is yet to investigate the two Central Bank bond scams which we believe resulted in a Rs. 3 billion loss for the country in 2015,” he charged.

“Due to these reasons we decided to file a no-confidence motion against Karunanayake and it is not to express our personal hate against him,” he added.