Parliamentarian Athuraliye Rathana Thera said President Maithripala Sirisena was unaware of lifting of the ban on Glyphosate. 

"When I asked President Maithripala Sirisena this morning, he said he was unaware of any such decision. President's secretary Austin Fernando also said he did not know about any such developmeent," Rathana Thera said,speaking at a press conference today. 

"I don't know whether decisions can be made without the knowledge of the Head of State and his Secretary," he added. 

Rathana Thera, an ally of President Maithripala Sirisena, is a strong supporter of the ban on Glyphosate. 

"If there is a government in this country, ministers should not be allowed to make arbitrary decisions. I don't know why Minister Navin Dissanayake said the ban on Glyphosate has been lifted. We don't know whether to believe the President's assurance or the Minister's statement," he added. 

Plantation Minister Navin Dissabayake said yesterday that the government had decided to lift the ban on glyphosate for tea and rubber plantations. 

He  added that President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had arrived at an initial agreement on the matter