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The Second Reading of Budget 2018 was passed by a two-third majority in Parliament on Thursday (16), but the growing unease between the partners in the Government of national unity- the United National Party (UNP) and President Maithripala Sirisena’s faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in Government- became more evident as the debate on the Appropriation Bill progressed.

While the Budget presented by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera won praise from most in Government, with a few exceptions, information unfolding before the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) investigating the Central Bank Treasury Bond (TB) issues continued to be the bane of the UNP, as the conduct of several of its members came under scrutiny.

The revelation on Thursday that 4 of the UNP MPs who were members of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) which functioned as a special committee to look into the TB issue, were in constant contact with the man at the center of the TB controversy, businessman Arjun Aloysius, left them open to severe criticism from, not only members of the Joint Opposition (JO) Group, but also JVP MPs.

While the UNP MPs were taking heavy flak for their conduct, the SLFP members chose to distance themselves from the allegations. Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera, the only SLFP member of COPE, who was named as having interacted with Aloysius, explained himself out of the situation, saying he had been approached by businessmen seeking information on the COPE proceedings, but had refused to do so.

For the 4 UNP MPs, explaining themselves out of this charge maybe a lot more arduous, and seems almost indefensible, given that, while being members of the foremost Parliamentary oversight committee, they were engaging in regular telephone interactions with the very person who is under investigation.

Other than the CoI which is putting the fragile arrangement between the two main parties to the test, the growing sense of distrust among members of the UNP and the SLFP faction in Government, came to the fore several times during this week’s House debate on the Budget.

On Thursday, there seemed a veiled attempt by the UNP to put President Sirisena’s SLFP faction in Government under the spotlight, by exposing their role in trying to get the Local Government (LG) elections postponed.

It transpired soon after former President and now Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa said during the debate on the Second Reading of the Budget, that this Government was attempting to postpone the LG polls and deny the people the right to exercise their franchise. “A group of persons have filed a writ in the Court of Appeal to try and get the LG elections delayed. It seems some groups are afraid to face elections,” he said.

Power & Renewable Energy Deputy Minister Ajith Perera who spoke after him, said that, the UNP is ready to face any election and is confident of winning.

“There are some covert moves to have the LG elections postponed which has nothing to do with the UNP. We would like to know who is behind this move,” he said.

The UNP Deputy Minister then generously told UPFA (JO) MP Kanchan Wijesekera to disclose who is behind the Writ Application.

“Allegations have been levelled at the JO, saying our members are trying to get the election postponed. We have looked into this matter and we have uncovered that all 6 Petitioners are linked to the SLFP group in Government,” he said.

These developments prompted Sports Minister Jayasekera to allege that the UNP and the JO have entered into a secret deal to sling mud at the SLFP.

“There is no connection to the SLFP in this court action. Neither the President nor anyone here in the SLFP has anything to do with this. We do not enter into secret deals with the UNP. When a UNP member was speaking, a JO member obtained 4 minutes from the former’s time to sling mud at the SLFP. The JO has entered into a deal with the UNP to sling mud at the SLFP,” he said.

Differences regarding some of the Budget proposals too came to light during this week’s House debate.

Ports & Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe was vocal in his opposition to the proposal to lift the restriction on the foreign ownership of shipping and freight forwarding agencies, which would enable major international shipping lines and logistics operators to base their operations in Sri Lanka.

Minister Samarasinghe said SLFP members in Government were opposed to this proposal and had conveyed their sentiments to President Sirisena.

“The SLFP works in this coalition Government while upholding the policies of our party. We will fight to safeguard local businesses and will not allow everything that the UNP brings forward to be implemented unopposed,” he said.

Another proposal by the Finance Minister to repeal the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises or Underutilized Assets Act, which was enacted in 2011 too, did not win the support of SLFP members in Government. The opposition stemmed from the move to return Sevanagala Sugar Factory to Primary Industries Minister Daya Gamage.

This was among several enterprises taken over by the Government in 2011.

With the Committee Stage debate on the Budget under way, it is likely that more cracks in the unity Government will surface. The challenge for President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is ensure they hold the fragile coalition together, without allowing the cracks to widen.