A final decision on moving a No Confidence Motion (NCM) against Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan will be made when the JO Parliamentary group meets after May 8, Joint Opposition (JO) frontliner and UPFA Ratnapura District MP Ranjith de Zoysa told the Sunday Observer.
However, de Zoysa said the JO hopes to request the Speaker to give the posts of Opposition Leader and Chief Opposition Whip to the JO as it commands the highest majority of 54 MPs in the Opposition. The JO would also discuss the issue with the 16 SLFP MPs who crossed over to the Opposition recently, the MP confirmed. Jo has accused the Opposition Leader of failing to fulfill the legitimate role of the Opposition Leader in Parliament. They say the Opposition Leader’s duties have been restricted only to matters pertaining to Northern and Eastern Provinces and represent the interests mostly of one particular community. If they do not get a favourable response to their demand to oust the Opposition Leader, MP Zoysa said they would continuously agitate for the Opposition Leader’s post.
There is hardly any validity in the argument that almost all SLFP MPs should quit the Government if the Opposition Leader post is to be given to the JO, he said.
However, even as the Joint Opposition (JO) has reiterated on their claim to the position of Main Opposition and commented on their proposed moves, including a No-Confidence Motion (NCM), the TNA says so long as the SLFP and the UPFA remain allies of the government, even partly, their claim does not hold any ground. TNA frontliner and Deputy Chairman of Committees, Selvam Adaikkalanathan told the Sunday Observer that the JO is not democratically entitled to bring in a NCM against the TNA and even if they did it would be defeated. Their efforts to capture the position of the Main Opposition would only remain a dream.
Strongly refuting JO allegations that Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan was only taking up issues related to the North and East, Adaikkalanathan said that the TNA leader had repeatedly spoken about national unity laying emphasis on several issues in the South that posed a threat to national unity such as the Ampara and Digana communal disturbances and injustices meted out to the university students.