Pro-Tamil guerrilla political parties in Parliament extended their support to the ruling party in Sri Lanka to defeat a no-confidence motion yesterday against a key government minister moved by the main opposition People's Alliance (PA).
Pro-Tamil guerrilla political parties in Parliament extended their support to the ruling party in Sri Lanka to defeat a no-confidence motion yesterday against a key government minister moved by the main opposition People's Alliance (PA).
The motion against Minister of Interior John Amaratunga was defeated by 35 votes. The government mustered 127 votes while the opposition People's Alliance and Marxist People's Liberation Front produced just 92 votes in the 225-seat legislature.
The government also had the support of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP). The EPDP's leader Douglas Devana-nda was a former minister of the PA government during the 1994 2001 period.
The motion against Amaratun-ga was debated for three days and the vote was taken at the end of it.
The no-confidence motion debate which began with interest ended up with lacklustre speeches from both sides, but in the process both the government and the opposition hurled allegations against each other.
"The opposition must have the right to criticise the government but faces harassment by the police when they do,"opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse said after the vote.
Amaratunga was quoted on a radio station as saying that the opposition wasted Rs 5 million of taxpayers' money by bringing a no-confidence motion against him in parliament.
He told TNL Radio that three days had been wasted without the opposition coming out with any ideas to improve the ministry or its services.
"I am terribly disappointed with them. They just rattled off. It is a waste of taxpayers' money," the Minister was quoted as saying.
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