5 April 2019 06:07 am
A team of MPs from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) are in contact with the United National Party (UNP) in a move to join hands with each other in view of future elections, the Daily Mirror learns.
These SLFP MPs are likely to abstain or be absent during the vote on the budget to be taken up in parliament today evening.
According to highly placed political sources, these SLFP MPs are not happy about the move by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to field former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a presidential candidate. They are likely to support the UNP at the next presidential elections.
The SLFP had a meeting with its leader President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday evening at his residence on the budget vote. However, the party could not take a decision because some MPs are not ready to vote against the budget on the basis that it contained allocations to the President’s Office and the Ministries held by him.
According to sources, these MPs will abstain or be absent during the vote today as they did during the budget vote after second reading earlier. (Kelum Bandara)