JVP comes out against Moragoda

The decision of the JVP politburo to back the no-confidence motion against Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda is likely to boost opposition demands for the motion to be taken up for debate on Tuesday. The JVP announcing its decision yesterday said it would use the debate to reveal details of corruption in the present administration and also in the UNF administration of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“The no-confidence motion affects the present government as a result of it getting those UNP politicians who have been found guilty of swindling public money during Mr. Wickremesinghe’s regime as share holders of the present government,” the JVP said. A decision on the date for the Moragoda debate will be taken at a party leaders’ meeting tomorrow.

Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara has summoned the meeting in response to a letter sent to him by Chief Opposition Whip Joseph Michael Perera who said the UNP supports the motion being taken up on Tuesday if other parties agree to the suggestion that the Local Government (Special Provision) (Amendment) Bill scheduled for Tuesday be passed without a debate. The UNP, the JVP and the TNA all appear to be in favour of an early debate on the Moragoda motion but the crucial factor will be the decision of the ruling alliance. The Government Parliamentary group is expected to take a decision tomorrow, but chief whip and senior minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said last week, priority would not be given for the no-faith motion and it was not likely to be taken up this year.

JVP frontliner Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his Party had no objection to an early debate on the motion but would abide by the decision of party leaders. Chief Opposition Whip Joseph Michael Perera said the UNP would forego a debate on the Local Government Bill and would give precedence to the Moragoda Motion.

The TNA said if the Government agreed to debate the no-confidence motion on Tuesday, it too would agree to it. But how the TNA would vote on it was not clear yesterday. Minister Moragoda himself wrote to the Speaker soon after the motion was presented by three MP on October 9, requesting an early date for the debate. The signatories to the motion are SLFP M parliamentarians Mangala Samaraweera, Sripathi Sooriyarachchi and UNP’s Dilip Wedaarachchi.

Mr. Sooriyarachchi said if the Government was confident it had sufficient numbers to get a majority, it should not fear an early debate on the Moragoda motion. Jathika Hela Urumaya spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said his party believed Parliament was not the proper forum for scrutinizing allegations made in the report by the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

He said such allegations should be directed to the Bribery Commission or the courts of law.“This motion seems to be politically motivated and the JHU will not be a party to it,” he said. The COPE report which is cited in the no-confidence motion included allegations against Mercantile Credit Limited, a company in which Mr. Moragoda had stakes.

One allegation is that the company defaulted in the payment of about 5,000 million rupees to the Central Bank. When the COPE report was presented to parliament, it was endorsed by all its 30 members, including government MPs. Legal action too has been initiated in courts by the JVP based on the allegations contained in the report.