Ministers sacked for failing to honour collective responsibility

Failure to honour the collective Cabinet responsibility by the former Ministers Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi forced President Mahinda Rajapaksa to sack them, a highly placed government source told the Sunday Observer.

The immediate reason for the President's decision was the boycott of the vote on the extension of Emergency Regulations when it was taken up in Parliament on Wednesday.

Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi were reported to have been in the Parliament precincts when the Emergency Vote was taken up, but did not attend the Debate.

"At a time the Government is fighting terrorism, the President is of the view that it is totally unacceptable for three cabinet Ministers to boycott the Emergency Vote," he said.

The three Ministers who were at odds with the President and unhappy over their portfolios boycotted the Emergency Vote.

The three Ministers also boycotted the first meeting of the revamped Cabinet held on Wednesday. A day later Anura Bandaranaike delivered a bombshell speech in Parliament, complaining that he had received anonymous telephones calls, threatening to hang him in Attanagalla and his colleague Minister Samaraweera in Matara.

Bandaranaike who was reportedly unhappy over the Ministry of National Heritage, which he was assigned in the recent Cabinet reshuffle earlier told Parliament that he was contemplating to stay at the Sigiriya Hotel and watch semi nude Sigiriya Damsels.

A well placed government source said the President had been aware of a conspiracy hatched to divide the SLFP.

"The boycott of the Emergency Vote, whereby the three Ministers openly challenged the collective responsibility of the Cabinet was the immediate reason. But, that is not the only reason," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, at a ceremony to give appointments to 27 new SLFP district and electorate organisers, the President vowed to defeat attempts by party insiders to de-stabilise the SLFP.

"I hear stories about groups that are trying to destroy the SLFP.Some do it from outside and the most dangerous of all are those who do it while being members of the party," he said.

He said he was neither S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, nor was Mrs Bandaranaike, but easily could be Medamulane Mahinda Rajapaksa at any given time, if he wanted to be so.

When contacted former Non Cabinet Minister of Port Development Sripathi Sooriyaarchchi said that they are awaiting the return of former Minister Mangala Samaraweera to Sri Lanka today from Singapore to decide on their future.

"Thereafter we will have a detailed discussion and decide on our next course of action", he said.

He said that they will continue to function as MPs as they have been directly elected by the people.

When asked whether there was a clash between the President and them, Sooriyaarchchi said there was nothing of the sort.