The debate over the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took another dramatic turn as Deputy Minister Thilanga Sumathipala claimed that he and around 40 other MPs did not sign a no-confidence motion.

Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya, Sumathipala claimed that he signed a petition to be handed over to the President. However, it was later turned into a no-confidence motion a group of MPs, he said.

Sumathipala said that there was no need for a no-confidence motion at the moment since the priority should be to approve the 20th Amendment. If it is not done within this parliament it will not be done in his lifetime, he claimed.

Meanwhile he also slammed the UNP for delaying the 20th Amendment, which is the most important task at hand right now. The President will dissolve the parliament once the 20th Amendment is passed or if it becomes clear that it will not be passed, he added.