Those who signed, those who didn’t and those who can’t remember

Several UNP MPs who recently crossed over to the government are among the 78 MPs who signed the no confidence motion against their former colleague, UNP MP Lakshman Seneviratne. The motion was handed over to the Speaker last Thursday.

Among those who signed are ministers Rajitha Senaratne, P.Dayaratna, Gamini Lokuge, Dharmadasa Banda and Mahinda Wijesekara. Two other ministers Bandula Gunawardena and Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena when contacted said they could not remember if they had signed it.

Public Administration Minister Karu Jayasuriya too refused to say if he had signed the motion or not and said the information could be obtained from the Chief Government Whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. However, he was unavailable for comment as well.

Among those who did not sign the motion are Neomal Perera, G.L. Peiris who is out of the country and Mano Wijeratna who said he was not contacted for his signature. Minister Hemakumara Nanayakkara refused to say if he had signed it but instead said a number of MPs had done so.

Those who could not be contacted for their comments were Naveen Dissanayake, Milinda Moragoda, Chandrasiri Suriyaarachchi and M.H. Mohammad.