A new Cabinet Minister and a new Deputy Minister were sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo today (2).
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and several UPFA parliamentarians also arrived at the Presidential Secretariat for the ceremony.
A member of the United National Party (UNP) and an MP of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) took oath as a minister and deputy minister respectively.
UNP MP S.B. Nawinne has been appointed as the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Internal Affairs and Regional Development.
Meanwhile TNA MP S. Viyalendiran has been sworn in as Deputy Minister of Regional Development (Eastern Development).
The Batticaloa District MP is the first MP to defect from the TNA.
Nawinne had served as the Minister of Internal Affairs & Wayamba Development under the previous government.
