UNPer to hold protest fast against Constitutional Amendments?

While United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was away in India, the party faced more turmoil within with three members vowing to vote with the government for the Constitutional Amendments to be brought before Parliament on Wednesday.

UNP Parliamentarians Earl Gunasekera, Lakshman Seneviratne and Manusha Nanayakkara last week came out openly in favour of the government while more are expected to follow suit, if not these two days, at least on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife in political circles that one UNP Parliamentarian is contemplation a protest fast near the Parliamentary complex on Wednesday when the Amendment Bill is taken up. Other reports suggest that the UNP may resort to protests near and around the Parliament against the Amendments and thus boycott the debate in parliament.

The UNP hierarchy last week warned its members that if they support the government on the Constitutional Amendments, strict disciplinary action would be initiated against them and they may even be removed from the party.

Reacting to this warning, Polonnaruwa District UNP Parliamentarian Earl Gunasekera has gone on record as saying that the party should in that case first take action against its Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya who had joined the government and later had returned to hold the party’s Deputer Leadership again.

Mr. Gunasekera has warned that the UNP members who have decided to vote with the government for the Constitutional Amendments will not hesitate to join the government if the UNP attempts to take disciplinary action against them.