By Chamodi Gunawardana

Confirming rumours of crossovers, Special Assignments Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama yesterday said several Joint Opposition members are ready to join the unity Government.

Speaking at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) weekly media briefing Amunugama said over two dozen MPs who were absent at the no confidence motion vote against Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake last week would be among the crossovers.

“As a positive impact of defeating the no faith motion against Karunanayake, some Joint Opposition members have decided to join the Government. I cannot reveal their names, but I can say they are among the MPs who were absent at the no confidence vote. Names will be revealed soon” he added.

The no faith motion was defeated by the Government with a majority of 94 votes while 51 voted in favour and 145 voted against.

However frontline members of the Joint Opposition including former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his son Namal Rajapaksa, MPs Wimal Weerawansa, Jayantha Samaraweera, Chandrasiri Gajadeera and Roshan Ranasinghe were absent at the voting. 

Amunugama also noted the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) expects to sign a memorandum of understanding with Leader Arumugam Thondaman of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Douglas Devananda from the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and A.L.M. Athaullah to expand the alliance.

“We will sign a special a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to confirm the partnership within the next few weeks,” he noted. 

SLFP CC to seek new CB Chief

Special Assignments Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama said yesterday that the SLFP Central Committee (CC) is to request President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint a new professional as the Central Bank Governor. 

“As we learnt Mahendran’s image was stained due to many reasons. Therefore reappointing him would be a disadvantage for the Government. It’s better to do a fresh appointment,” he stated.