Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa said the no-motion confidence against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was signed by half of all sitting MPs because of the unethical manner the new government is conducting itself in.
In a press release, Mr Rajapaksa said that he has also been at the receiving end of this and accused the new government of setting up a "Gestapo-like" police unit.
“This situation is not surprising given the unethical conduct of this government of which I too have been at the receiving end," he said in the statement.
"While propagating falsehoods about the misuse of funds during my tenure, the government is mired in a massive Treasury bond scam which has already caused a loss of Rs.50 billion,
"In the meantime, the specially set up 'Gestapo' like police unit which reports directly to a cabinet sub-committee has been jailing the government’s political opponents,
"The blatant falsehoods, corruption and persecution of opponents under this government is what has led to this historic no-confidence motion.”