Enjoining order on UNP leader

Sandasen Marasinghe

COLOMBO: Colombo District Judge Aruna C. Ranasinghe yesterday issued an enjoining order preventing UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe from suspending 11 UNP Members of Parliament who recently joined the Government and assumed duties as Ministers, from their memberships of the Working Committee of the UNP.

The Court issued the enjoining order preventing the suspension of Karu Jayasuriya, G.L. Pieris, Bandula Gunawardana, Rajitha Senaratne, Milinda Moragoda, Gamini Lokuge, Neomal Perera, M.M. Musthapha, Mano Wijeratne, P. Dayaratne and Hemakumara Nanayakkara from the UNP working Committee by means of a letter dated February 7, signed by Wickremesinghe.

The 11 UNP Parliamentarians who joined the Government filed 11 separate plaints through Sudath Perera Associates before the District Court citing UNP leader Wickremesinghe and its General Secretary Tissa Attanayake.

The plaintiffs stated that through a letter dated February 7, they were informed that they were suspended from the UNP Working Committee since they joined the UPFA government as ministers without the approval of the UNP despite the fact that they were appointed as the members of the Working Committee of the UNP for 2007.

Further it was a violation of the decision of the Party's Working Committee taken on December 18, 2006.

The plaintiffs further stated that they received fax notices on February 5 stated that the UNP Working Committee meeting would be convened on February 6. The notice was inadequate and they informed Attanayake that they could not be present.

Further, plaintiffs stated that the UNP and the SLFP entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on October 23, 2006 agreeing to work together on certain specific issues in the greater interest of the country.

The MoU included an agreement on the modalities of power sharing between the UNP and the SLFP in Parliament. But the UNP under the leadership of Wickremesinghe failed and neglected to act in line with the MoU despite appeals by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and certain UNP MPs. The plaintiffs also stated that the problems confronting the country could be resolved by proper implementation of the objectives of the MoU entered between the UNP and the SLFP and they can only can be achieved by a practical arrangement for power sharing in the national interest.

Thereafter, plaintiffs decided to work together with the Government and the President which was clearly in keeping with objectives of the UNP as clearly manifested by the execution of the MoU.

The plaintiffs prayed Court for a declaration that the plaintiffs continue to remain as members of the Working Committee of the UNP and the suspension contained in the letter dated February 7 was null and void.

The Plaintiffs also prayed Court to issue an enjoining order preventing the defendants from suspending them from the membership of the Working Committee of the UNP. The case was put off for March 5.

President's Counsel Romesh de Silva, Attorneys Arsha Amarasekara, Kanchana Pieris and Sugath Kaldera instructed by Sudath Perera Associates appeared for the plaintiffs.