SJB MPs plan no-faith motion against Udaya Gammanipla over recent fuel price hike
COLOMBO: MPs representing Sri Lanka’s main opposition the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) have signed a no confidence motion against Energy Minister Udaya Gammanipla over the recent fuel price hike, Economy Next reported.
The government holds its near two-thirds majority in parliament.
The SJB’s motion notes that, as per an official statement from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) itself, the Energy Minister had increased fuel prices without the approval of the cabinet in contravention of the principle of collective responsibility.
The motion was signed June 16 by the SJB parliamentary group including opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.
The controversial SLPP statement, signed June 12 by party general secretary MP Sagara Kariyawasam, has caused much controversy, leading to speculation of an internal rift within the government.
Gammanpila has denied that decision was his own but, rather, was taken collectively by a cabinet sub-committee on the cost of living at a meeting chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and attended by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The president’s office, too, said June 13 that the government raised fuel prices to strengthen the economy, the rupee and the banking system which has loaned over 652 billion rupees to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
The motion also faults Gammanpila for maintaining high fuel prices since January 2020 that have yet to reflect falling prices in the world market.
The SJB too is also dogged by speculation of a conflict within its own ranks.
The party said in a statement on June 8 that the parliamentary group had unanimously expressed their support for Premadasa’s continued leadership – in a kind of “confidence motion” – amid speculation that all is not well within. This was while the party leader was recovering from asymptomatic COVID-19.
A number of opposition parliamentarians have also gone on record questioning the fuel price drama, acknowledging the implausibility of a single minister unilaterally increasing the prices of fuel.