Ahead of bilateral talks scheduled for April 10, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) said everyone would cast doubts about the genuineness of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) if it abstained from voting on the budget today.

SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris told the Daily Mirror yesterday that people would seriously doubt whether the SLFP was trying to protect the United National Party (UNP) - led government if it abstained from voting today.

He said the two expenditure heads of the government were defeated. He said only 38 government MPs were present on one occasion and 24 on the other occasion.

“It means the government members are not interested in participating in the vote,” he said.

Commenting on the UNHRC process, he said though President Maithripala Sirisena denied having any knowledge on the move by Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva A.L.A. Azeez to cosponsor the resolution, the action against the person who gave such orders to the ambassador should be spelt out.

“Everyone is blaming the Ambassador, but there is a chain of command to be followed. The ambassador carried out the instructions,” he said.

He asked as to how the head of the reconciliation unit could give such orders to the ambassador. He said it was like the re-enactment of the situation in which former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran who was involved in the bond fraud was allowed to flee the country through the VIP channel of the airport.

“The government did not bring him to book,” he said.

Likewise, he said no action had been taken against Mano Tittawella who is the head of the reconciliation unity for giving orders to the Ambassador to cosponsor the resolution in Geneva.(Kelum Bandara)