Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) legislator Nimal Lansa, who has reportedly been working on a new alliance backing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, has challenged detractors within the government to try and defeat the upcoming budget.
“What I have to say to [government MPs] Namal Rajapaksa and Sagara Kariyawasam is, if you are opposed to the budget, come and vote against it, defeat the government and go for a parliamentary election. We’re all prepared for that,” Lansa said, speaking to reporters.
“No matter how much they shout, they will not defeat the budget. If you can, accept my challenge and defeat it,” he said.
Lansa’s comments came in the wake of former sports minister Namal Rajapaksa, who sits in the government benches, criticised a controversial electricity tariff hike, which he said the public has blamed on the SLPP, the party led by his father and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“On the one hand, electricity tariffs are going up, as are taxes and water tariffs. There is also talk of new taxes to be imposed. There are no measures being taken to control cost of living. It’s the SLPP that takes the blame,” he said.
“The budget is coming. We’re waiting to see what he proposes in the budget. With those proposals, we as a party shall take a decision,” he added.
SLPP general secretary Sagara Kariyawasam at a recent press briefing also lamented the blame heaped on the Rajapaksas for the electricity tariff hike.
His colleague MP Rohitha Abeygunawardean, meanwhile, said the SLPP has no intention of breaking up the government.
“We’re not going to break this up halfway through for funsies. We will raise both hands for any good thing the government does. We will stand up for whatever that is good in the budget. We do not, however, plan to support anything we see as wrong,” said Abeygunawardena.
“If you cannot do this, please go to the people. If somebody comes with Aladdin’s lamp and says he can quickly reduce tariffs, we can see about that,” he added.
A defeat of the budget effectively sees the dissolution of parliament, leading to a general election.
With the presidential election just a year away, the SLPP’s continued support for President Wickremesinghe remains up in the air. Lansa, a former confidante of SLPP national organiser Bail Rajapaksa, has reportedly switched allegiances to form a new alliance backing Wickremesinghe.
The SLPP has given mixed signals on which way the party will go and, at the time of writing, there is still no clarity on whether or not the party will field its own candidate.