Minister Harin Fernando has accused the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) of ousting him from the political party over a personal vendetta.

Speaking further in this regard, Fernando revealed that, while he trusts the Supreme Court to give an appropriate verdict in this regard, several members of the SJB are likely to join the United National Party (UNP).

On 18 July, the SJB Working Committee decided to expel Ministers Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara from the party.

In May 2022, the SJB had suspended the party membership of the two parliamentarians after they had accepted ministerial portfolios in the government while the party had vowed to take disciplinary action against them.

MPs Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara were sworn in as the Minister of Tourism & Lands and Minister of Labour & Foreign Employment, respectively.

Fernando and Nanayakkara had said they accepted ministerial portfolios in the government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to do their utmost to find solutions to the ongoing economic crisis as a positive response was not received from many political party leaders for a collective effort.

They both subsequently resigned from their ministerial portfolios on July 9, 2022 along with the rest of the Cabinet, after then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa informed the Speaker of Parliament that he intends to resign.

However, they were both reappointed to the same ministerial portfolios by incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe when he appointed a new Cabinet on July 22, 2022.