MP Venerable Athuraliye Rathana Thero has filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a court order to cancel the decision of the ‘Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya’ to expel him from the party and remove him as a Member of Parliament. 

The respondents named in the petition include the ‘Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya’ (Our Power of People Party), the party’s Secretary Nishantha Ratnayake, Chairman Saman Perera, the Secretary of the ‘Vijaya Dharani Jathika Sabawa’ Samantha Keerthi Bandara, the Chairman of the Election Commission Nimal Punchihewa and other members and the Director General of the Election Commission Saman Sri Ratnayake.

The petitioner, Ven. Rathana Thero, states that he is not a member of the ‘Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya’ and that therefore neither the central committee nor the disciplinary committee of the party has the authority to remove him from his position as an MP while accusing him of breaching discipline. 

Ven. Rathana Thero also says that the party has no authority to take disciplinary actions against him and that the measures taken by the respondents to remove him from the party and from his MP seat is in violation of the agreement reached between the Thero and the ‘Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya’.

He therefore requests the court to issue an order annulling the decisions taken by the ‘Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya’ to remove him from party membership and his parliamentary seat. He also requests the court to issue an order declaring that the Thero has not lost his MP seat. 

Last month, the Our Power of People Party (OPPP) announced that Venerable Athuraliye Rathana Thero has been expelled from the party. Election Commission Chairman said he was informed of the matter in writing by OPPP’s General Secretary.

Rathana Thero was appointed by the ‘Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya’, also known as Our Power of People Party (OPPP) on December 18 last year to fill its National List parliamentary seat which was left vacant for several months following a long-drawn dispute within the party.