SLPP rejects Steering Committee report on new Constitution

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G.L Peiris

• Say will work to defeat any vote on the report by the Constitutional Assembly 
• Insist Constitution is not a priority, Govt. should focus on economic issues 

By Nuwan Senarathna 

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday said it rejects the Steering Committee report presented to the Constitutional Assembly (CA) and would work to defeat any vote on it in Parliament with the support of lawmakers loyal to Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa.    

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G.L Peiris argued that the reports, which were presented to the Constitutional Assembly last Friday, were tantamount to a draft Constitution even though other political parties had rejected the existence of a draft Constitution. 

“We cannot agree with the report tabled before the Constitutional Assembly by the Panel of Experts on Friday. Therefore we will try our best to defeat this harmful constitution-making process,” Prof. Peiris told reporters at SLPP headquarters. 

He said that considering the current situation of the country a new Constitution was not necessary as the country was facing issues which needed to be addressed prior to drafting a new Constitution. Therefore, SLPP would commence a programme to ensure that any vote on the report would be defeated. 

“The county has to face many economic challenges during this year such as debt repayment and taxes that have hampered the public. But instead of dealing with these issues the Government is very keen on tabling a draft constitution, which cannot be accepted,” he said.

Prof. Peiris maintained only once issues pertaining to the public are addressed can the Government focus on the new Constitution. He noted if Government wanted to address the shortcomings of the current Constitution, the Government could amend the Constitution with the support of all parties in Parliament.

He also said concern was raised regarding the report presented to the Constitutional Assembly on Friday. “Ministers and MPs of the Government had raised concerns over the report presented to the Constitutional Assembly. Some MPs said they were not aware of the meaning of “Oru-miththa-nadu,” which was mentioned in the report,” he stated.

Prof. Peiris said according to standing orders of Parliament a minimum of three days should have been given to MPs to study a report that related to the Constitution. He noted only 56 MPs were presented in Parliament when the Constitutional Assembly met on Friday, which he claimed reflects the fact that the majority of MPs were not interested in the Constitution-making process. However, the Deputy Speaker ruled that the Constitutional Assembly sitting was legal and adequate notice had been given to the members.  

The report presented to CA on Friday and it was based on the interim report, six sub-committee reports, the report of the ad hoc sub-committee assigned to look into the relationship between the Parliament and the Provincial Councils.

Meanwhile, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena referring to Provincial Council election which is likely to be held this year expressed confidence that the SLPP would be able to win the majority of councils other than the Northern Provincial Council.  

“SLPP will be able to win all provincial councils other than the North. When considering the numbers our party won at the Local Government election, it is clear we have a good chance of winning the Provincial Council elections,” he said.

He admitted the SLPP will not able to be able to get more votes than the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).