The clash between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the Ruling Party in the government, has now become paint for many headlines in the political arena and many ministers and MPs representing the SLPP confront that the SLFP should leave the government without levelling criticism against it.
Many government ministers and MPs have urged the government leaders to oust the SLFP, while some of them demonstrate their objection via exerting pressure.
In the backdrop, the proposed Cabinet Reshuffle prior to the next Parliamentary session is also likely to be postponed, according to sources.
Should the SLFP make a firm decision to leave, the government will be losing its two-thirds power, driving it into an immense danger amidst an ongoing crisis in the country. It is in this backdrop has the government decided not to lose the SLFP despite the growing resistance, the sources added.
The government, according to sources, is currently planning to secure its two-thirds power without the SLFP and as of now, seven Muslim MPs of the North and East have already pledged their allegiance to the government. The only existing MPs of the Opposition Muslim Congress and the All Ceylon People’s Congress are Rauf Hakeem and Rishard Bathiudeen.
Meanwhile, sources also claimed that the government is in a mission to win a number of MPs representing the highlands. Should these MPs from the highlands and those representing the Muslim community be welcomed to the government, ministerial posts will have to be vested in them. As the 19th Amendment to the Constitution restricts the number of Cabinet, State and Deputy Ministerial posts, vesting in any more ministerial posts in order to protect the two-thirds power could spawn a crisis, political analysts pointed out.
On the other hand, ministerial posts should also be divided among the existing members of the SLPP given their higher number. Many senior politicians who had held Cabinet posts before are merely knocking on the tables without any ministerial posts hoping to be appointed as ministers in the next Reshuffle.
Given the above, the only option left for the government is to form an alliance with another political party and thereafter a ‘national government’. A strategy of this nature may enable the government for increase the number of Cabinet ministerial posts.
However, the formation of a national government aiming a Cabinet growth could also be a blow in the head against the government losing what remains as its reputation in the event that the majority of the people in the country are deeply dissatisfied with the government.
