UNP says Vote on Account illegal

• Challenges Rajapaksa camp to table it in Parliament  

Insisting that the Vote on Account (VoT) prepared to access funds to finance State affairs for the first three months of 2019 was illegal, UNP MP and former Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake yesterday challenged the document to be placed before Parliament for a vote.

MP Ravi Karunanayake

Speaking at a media briefing held at Temple Trees, Karunanayake said that the move by the President Maithripala Sirisena-appointed Cabinet was illegal as there is no Cabinet and a Government in Sri Lanka at the moment.

“There is no Government in Sri Lanka currently as those who call themselves the ruling party do not have a majority in Parliament,” he said.

The status of the current Government has been disputed as the Parliament has passed two no confidence motions against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed Prime Minister by Sirisena after the surprise sacking of sitting Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe. Rajapaksa was also appointed the Finance Minister.  As per Hansard records following the no confidence motions, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has said that the Parliament does not recognise a Prime Minister or a Government. 

Challenging the Mahinda Rajapaksa camp to present the VoT account in Parliament, Karunanayake claimed that their opponents do not have majority.

“We challenge those who call themselves a Government to show that they have at least 90 members in the House,” he added.