A group led by S.B Dissanayake has reportedly exerted pressure on the President to effect a minor reshuffle of the Cabinet. This is to appoint ministers from the SLPP to fill the vacant positions.
The group includes former ministers such as Johnston Fernando, Rohitha Abeygoonewardene, and Namal Rajapaksa.
However, it is learnt that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has not responded positively to their request.
The President will leave for Egypt tomorrow (06) to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt.
Reports said that the President’s response would be made known to them upon his return from Egypt
However, the group is currently planning to defeat the budget if the President declines their request to effect a cabinet reshuffle before the budget.
Nevertheless, they are aware of the difficulty in doing so since a majority of the SLPP members have aligned with the President.
Internal sources say that this group of SLPP seniors has met under the leadership of SB Dissanayake to discuss the current situation and the modus operandi.
If they are unable to defeat the Budget as a whole they are aiming to vote against ministry votes when they are debated and put to vote in the House. For this, they might even ask for the support of the opposition benches
