16 Govt. MPs with Opposition?

(November,18, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Opposition is negotiation with 16 government members to vote against the budget, the top level political sources said.

The decision of the 16 MPs have boiled down to awaiting the JVP’s decision on the budget vote, informed sources said.

The Opposition will have 106 votes if the JVP vote against the budget.

It is learned JVP politburo member and MP. Anura Kumara Dissanayake has in an interview to a Sunday Sinhala paper published today given an indication the party would be voting against the budget.

He had also privately told several MPs who had asked for the part’s position to read his interview to know how the party would vote.

The JVP newspaper, Lanka on Friday in its lead story said, 24 government members were planning to crossover to the opposition.

Informed sources said the government members had indicated to the Opposition that they would vote with the Opposition that they would vote with the Opposition to defeat the budget on December 14 at the committee stage if the JVP votes against it on Tomorrow. (November 19).

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem and CWC Minister M. Muttusivalingam told the government group meeting this afternoon that their parties would support the budget tomorrow.

"Ours is a party with principles. We are not part of any conspiracy to topple government" Minister Hakeem has said while Muttusivalingham told the group that his party too had taken a decision to support the budget.