Mohamed wants Maharoof, Moragoda stripped of UNP Membership

COLOMBO: Colombo District Leader, Vice Chairman of the United National Party and former Minister M.H. Mohamed, MP, wanted the party to strip MPs M.H.M. Maharoof and Milinda Moragoda from the party membership and any post they hold subject the outcome of the inquiry.

Mohamed, a veteran politician of the green camp who, over the past few decades faithfully committed himself to UNP policies has written to UNP Secretary General N.Y.K.K. Weragoda informing him that he would be tabling a resolution at the party's Next Working Committee Meeting.

The letter addressed to the Secretary General sent on March 14 surfaced immediately after the court verdict upholding the decision of the Returning Officer in Colombo who nullified the nomination list of the UNP candidates submitted to contest the Colombo Municipal Council elections.

The resolution submitted by Mohamed states inter alia .. 'the members against whom there was a prima facie case to commence disciplinary inquiry (namely Mr. M.H.M. Maharoof, MP and Mr. Milinda Moragoda, MP) be stripped of membership of the Working Committee of the UNP and all other party posts they may hold, pending the inquiry report and follow it up with suitable deterrent disciplinary measures to ensure that such acts shall not be contemplated or attempted by the said Members or other members of the UNP in the future'.

Sources close to the UNP told the Daily News that the candidates will seek election to the Colombo Municipal Council via three Independent candidates lists.

"We will get the candidates in the list to issue letters of resignation in the event they are elected and our members will take their place and will be back in the CMC," a source said.

Mohamed in his letter has pointed out that tampering with the 2006 Colombo Municipal Council nomination list of the UNP by certain UNP members has caused immeasurable political damage to the party.

The letter while stating that the incident has resulted in the environment in which intra-party discipline is being called into question, said it has led to a situation where the process of administering party discipline, has become inconsistent and dependent upon one's influence and `closeness' to the leader/leadership.

The UNP has appointed a two member committee to probe into the matter and the experience is that it has become the practice to ignore such reports and that would provide those responsible in tampering the nomination to avoid accountability.

The letter said: "Discipline should be maintained at all times in any organisation for it to function effectively. The principle of enforcing discipline should not be varied on an individual basis. Doing so will send the wrong message to the Members of the UNP.

I regret to note that in this instance enforcing disciplinary action seems to be delayed due to the individual involved having undue influence over the UNP leadership.

This is undermining the authority of the party and further more is sending the message that 'the more influence you have over the leadership the easier it will be to avoid disciplinary action/accountability'. The party should make every effort to stop this forthwith".

The letter said he intends to table a resolution at the next UNP Working Committee Meeting and to make arrangements to be included in the agenda.

The Resolution: "The working committee of the UNP resolves to condemn in the strongest possible terms the unethical and derogatory act of tampering with the approved nomination list of the UNP for the 2006 Colombo Municipal Council elections.

The working committee further resolves that the members against whom there was a Prima Facie case to commence disciplinary inquiry (M.H.M. Mahroof, MP and Milinda Moragoda, MP) be stripped of membership of the working committee of the UNP and all other party posts they may hold, pending the release of the Inquiry report, and follow it up with suitable deterrent disciplinary measures to ensure that such acts shall not be contemplated or attempted by the said members or other members of the UNP in the future".