The no-confidence motion against All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader Rishad Bathiudeen has not been turned down by the Speaker due to an issue with the date of the motion.

The motion had been handed over to the Speaker yesterday with a 2018 date, informed political sources said.

Sources from the Speaker's Office said as a result of the wrong date, there was a technical difficulty in setting a date for the debate on the no-confidence motion.

Therefore, they said, the opposition was informed to resubmit the no-confidence motion with the correct date.

The motion was handed over to Speaker Jayasuriya yesterday with 66 signatures. The motion states the House has lost confidence in the ACMC Leader over his alleged links with Islamist militants in Sri Lanka.