Former Minister Bandula Gunawardena was expelled from the Central Committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

A letter from the party informed him of this decision. It further said that he had been expelled for not adhering to Central Committee decisions.

Bandula Gunawardena was among those who attended the rally in Ratnapura on March 26 in support of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. SLFP Central Committee had issued a banning order on party members on attending rallies organized by other parties with no prior approval.

More than 20 SLFP MPs and Provincial Council Members took part in this rally. The SLFP later said that they will be penalized for their conduct. However, no action was taken for two weeks.

Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga also spoke on those who break party discipline recently, adding that President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also SLFP Chairman, will take steps to penalize them in the near future.