Colombo, April 12 (newsin.asia): The Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to carry out a “temporary reshuffle of the Council of Ministers on Thursday ,which essentially means that he could re-distribute among existing ministers, portfolios held by Ministers who resigned on Wednesday.
No new induction of Ministers from outside the existing Council of Minister is immediately expected. i
16 MPs comprising senior and junior Ministers belonging to President Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), had resigned on Wednesday saying that they could not work with the coalition partner United National Party (UNP) on ideological and other political grounds.
On April 4, they had voted for the No Confidence Motion (NCM) against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe moved by the Joint Opposition led by former President and former SLFP chairman Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Ministers who voted against the Prime Minister and subsequently resigned were: Susil Premajayantha, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Dilan Perera, John Seneviratne, Lakshman Wasantha Perera, Dr.Sudarshani Fernandopulle, Tharanath Basnayake, Susantha Punchinilame, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, S B Dissanayake, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Chandima Weerakkody, Anuradha Jayaratne, T.B Ekanayake and Sumedha Jayasena. Thilanga Sumathipala is an MP but was a Deputy Speaker. He had resigned from the Deputy Speakership earlier.
(The featured image at the top shows the ministers who resigned and whose portfolios are likely to be re-distributed among existing Ministers)
