United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) parliamentarian Dullas Allahaperuma, at a press conference in Colombo yesterday, swore withdraw MPs of the Joint Opposition from Parliament Oversight Committees if they were not consulted over the Hambanthota Port issue.

The MP was referring the revelation by UPFA MP Chamal Rajapaksa on Monday, that the Parliament Oversight Committee on Transport and Communication chaired by him had not been made known of the contents of the Hambanthota deal with China.

UPFA MP Allahaperuma threatened that all Joint Opposition MPs in Parliament Oversight Committees would withdraw if the government shrouded important deals like this in secrecy.

Nearly 50 MPs in the 225 MP strong Parliament are aligned with the ‘Joint Opposition’ movement unofficially led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.