The refusal of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to oppose the United National Party (UNP) became a serious impediment towards the formation of an alliance between the SLFP and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), The Sunday Morning learnt.
Leader of the SLPP, Prof. G.L. Peiris, speaking to The Sunday Morning, said that the party had expressed displeasure and concern regarding the SLFP’s continuous failure to oppose the UNP, when the two parties met for discussions on Wednesday (10). He said that the point of an alliance between the SLFP and SLPP was to form a strong anti-UNP front.
“How can this be done if the SLFP cannot even vote against the Budget? You don’t hear of any major political party abstaining from voting on a Budget. A party is either for a Budget or against it,” he said.
He said that after the SLFP had abstained from voting during the second reading of the Budget, the SLFP group had accepted that their decision was a mistake and that they would rectify it during the third reading and vote.
“Yet again, they abstained. What is their real attitude towards the UNP?”
He said party supporters were losing faith in the alliance and were questioning its purpose.
“The actions of the SLFP have resulted in an erosion of confidence in our proposed alliance. Their refusal to oppose the UNP has become a serious impediment to an alliance being formed smoothly,” Prof. Peiris said.
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