Mangala, Sripathi sit in Opposition benches

Uditha Kumarasinghe and Irangika Range

KOTTE: UPFA Parliamentarians and ex-Ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi left their Government seats and sat in the Opposition side around 11.55 a.m. yesterday.

Samaraweera who sat in the back benches of the Government side, made a special statement and went to the Opposition side across the Chamber. Sooriyaarachchi followed him.

Both UPFA MPs were seated in the front seats of the Opposition. When Supplementary Plantation Crops Development Minister Dharmadasa Banda commenced the debate to approve the supplementary estimates on seven ministries, Samaraweera requested to give him some time to make a special statement. Samaraweera said: “As a SLFP member of this UPFA Government, I will sit in the Opposition to protest against the extremist moves taken by this Government.”

Sooriyaarachchi also sat next to Samaraweera.

He said: “In the future, I will sit in the Opposition and function as an independent SLFP MP of the UPFA.”

The two UPFA MPs were seated in the front seats of the Opposition allocated for MPs Mano Ganeshan and Suresh Premachandran.

The UNP MPs welcomed the two UPFA MPs to the opposite side. UNP Chairman MP Rukman Senanayake and UNP MP Ravi Karunanayke first wished and greeted the two MPs.