All 51 MPs in the Joint Opposition (JO) will participate in JO’s May Day rally at Galle Face Green tomorrow under the patronage of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
No JO MP will attend the SLFP May Day rally at Gatambe, Kandy, UPFA Kandy District MP Dilum Amunugama told the Sunday Observer.
There are 51 MPs in the JO and 35 of them are SLFP MPs. All these MPs will attend the rally at Galle Face Green, he said.
When asked whether the SLFP Central Committee which met last Sunday had made it compulsory for all SLFP MPs to attend its May Day rally at Gatambe, MP Amunugama said that except inviting us to participate in the rally, the party hierarchy has not informed us that it is compulsory. Even if it is made compulsory, we can’t be there because we are organising the Galle Face rally.
“What they are trying to say is
that the Gatambe rally is a UPFA rally. But that is totally wrong because only the SLFP will be participating in the Kandy rally.Except for one faction of the SLFP in the Government, all other constituent parties in the UPFA will participate in the Galle Face rally. Therefore, the Getambe rally cannot called a UPFA rally at all.”
He said the SLFP MPs in the JO are not the least bothered about their organiser posts being taken off, because they don’t take any instruction from the present SLFP high command.
“My view is that if there are any more organisers still remaining in the SLFP, they should resign before they are sacked. The SLFP has also no other option since we are not following their orders. Therefore, they will have to appoint weaklings who dance to their tune,” Amunugama said.
MP Amunugama says that the members of the JO will face consequences following the May Day rally. “Even if they opt for legal action, we are ready to face it.
Because at any court or inquiry, we can stress our point that we stand by true SLFPers and not SLFP officials.
They are the only people who are not obeying the SLFPers orders. If action is to be taken, it has to be against them and not against us,” he said.
Removing someone from the post of an organiser could be justified if they are not taking orders from the party high command. But if the new appointee is much senior to his predecessor, of course there is no issue, he said.