Bandaranaike has been leader of the opposition and has held several ministerial positions in SLFP-led governments and has also crossed over to the opposition, when his sister Chandrika took over the party.
Last year he was sacked by President Mahinda Rajapakse along with Mangala Samaraweera and late Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi, but came back to the government as national heritage minister.
During the last budget debate he crossed over to opposition benches but did not vote against the budget.
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