ITAK member M.A. Sumanthiran has welcomed Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody’s voluntary resignation over the substandard coal procurement scandal but strongly criticised the government and NPP members of Parliament for defending him during last week’s no-confidence motion.
“The resignation of the Minister must be lauded; but in the same breath, the government and NPP members of Parliament must be condemned for defending him and voting to retain him as Minister even after the government itself conceded that the coal was in fact substandard,” Sumanthiran said in a statement on X.
Jayakody resigned on April 17 to ensure a transparent investigation by the newly appointed Presidential Commission of Inquiry into coal procurement. He had survived a no-confidence motion 153-49 just one week earlier, with the NPP’s comfortable parliamentary majority ensuring his survival.
Sumanthiran also pointed out that Jayakody faces a separate indictment by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in another case, underscoring the need for accountability.
His statement adds a Tamil political voice to the growing cross-party criticism of the NPP’s handling of the coal scandal. SLPP’s Namal Rajapaksa called the resignation “too late”, while the SJB had led the original no-confidence motion and demanded prosecution.
