UNP State Minister Says It Is Impossible To Defeat President Sirisena's Expenditure Head In Parliament Due To "Technical Reasons"

A United National Party State Minister yesterday said it was not possible to defeat the President's Expenditure Head, as claimed by backbenchers of the party. 

Addressing a press conference at the UNP headquarters yesterday, UNP State Minister J.C. Alawathuwela said the Expenditure Heads of the President, the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader would be presented to the House together. 

"In such a scenario, there is no way of singling out the President's Expenditure Head and defeating it in Parliament," Alawathuwela explained. 

However, the State Minister said it was technically possible to vote down the Expenditure Heads of the ministries held by President Sirisena, although the party had still not made a decision on the matter. 

"We have to make decisions as a government," Alawathuwela said indicating that the party would not vote down the Expenditure Heads of the President's ministries. 

The backbenchers of the UNP held a meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe earlier this week and stressed the need for defeating the President's Expenditure Head in protest of the latter's action against the UNP. 

It is learnt that the Prime Minister's did not give the green light to the UNP backbenchers to proceed with their plans.