SJB has no backbone to object to IMF agreement: Handunnetti

29 April 2023 10:58 pm Views - 1717

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has approved the destruction which would be caused to the country and the economy through the IMF fund facility agreement by being absent during the time of voting in Parliament yesterday, former JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said today.

He told a news conference that President Ranil Wickremesinghe only wanted to show that the IMF agreement was approved by Parliament and that the SJB did not have the backbone to oppose it.

"Parliamentary approval should have been obtained before signing the IMF agreement. However, it was presented in Parliament after it was signed. The President only wanted to show that the agreement was endorsed by Parliament. The SJB did not have the backbone to oppose it. They should have either approved it or opposed it without evading the vote," he said.

Handunnetti said the SJB should conduct a disciplinary inquiry against all its MPs who were absent during voting, instead of claiming to conduct a disciplinary inquiry only against MP A.H.M. Fowzie, who voted in favour of the agreement. (Ajith Siriwardana)