State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena says that a disciplinary inquiry is not necessary to suspend a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) who is not an MP or councilor. 

He stated that a disciplinary inquiry against an MP should be carried out very meticulously. It cannot be done in a manner which is rejected by courts, the state minister said.

The SLFP central committee yesterday (4) decided to suspend the party membership of  a group of former SLFP Local Government members from the Kurunegala district, who were responsible for setting fire to letters sent from the party notifying of interviews being held to select candidates for the next Local Government election. 

The party membership of MP Sanath Nishantha has been suspended by the central committee over certain comments made by him recently. 

Abeywardena stated that the general secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party was yesterday given authority by the central committee to take disciplinary action against certain members.

The general secretary can now proceed to implement disciplinary laws in a manner which is accepted by courts, he told reporters in Colombo.

Replying to a question as to why a decision is not being taken regarding the members who recently jeered at the SLFP headquarters during a protest march, he said: “It is easy to break a party but it’s hard to create one.” 

That is why President Maithripala Sirisena clearly said yesterday that there is still time and invited them to join with us.