COLOMBO: Sri Lankan lawmakers submitted a motion on Monday to suspend paying the expenses of disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has lost two no-confidence motions in Parliament amid an ongoing political crisis.
A lawmaker from the Marxist Peoples' Liberation Front, which is opposed to Rajapaksa, said last week's passing of the no-confidence motions meant that Rajapaksa's office and the government had ceased to exist and therefore has no power to spend public money.
The lawmaker, Anura Dissanayaka, said Parliament has the power over public finances and it was on that basis that Monday's motion was submitted. The vote will take place Nov. 29.
Sri Lanka has been in crisis since Oct. 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa, a former president. Wickremesinghe has said he still has the support of a majority in Parliament.
M. A. Sumanthiran, another lawmaker opposed to Rajapaksa, said Monday's motion was presented by a group of 122 lawmakers.
He said it is a "token of what the powers the Parliament can exercise when the group claiming to be the government does not have the majority in Parliament and refuses to bow to a no vote."
The latest motion was presented a day after a crucial meeting among political party leaders failed to reach a breakthrough to resolve the political crisis.