The Samurdhi Bank cannot be place under the Central Bank due according to the current law of Sri Lanka, former State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. 

Speaking to media yesterday, Abeywardena said it required a two thirds majority in Parliament. 

"The Samurdhi bank has been set up under the Divineguma Act. If the Prime Minister wants to place it under Central Bank, the Divineguma Act and other governing legislations should be amended. It requires a two thirds majority," Abeywardena, a supporter of President Maithripala Sirisena, added. 

"The Prime Minister's statement to place the Samurdhi Bank under the Central Bank is an ill-advised one," he said. 

Abeywardena also added that his group would not support such an amendment and therefore, the government would not have a two thirds majority. "This bank was set up to give loan facilities to the underprivileged' not for any other purpose," he said. 

The Prime Minister, addressing the UNP May Day event yesterday, said the Samurdhi Bank would soon be placed under the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.