President-PM stand-off bringing country to collapse: Opposition

Friday, 28 June 2019 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent

Tension between the President and Prime Minister has led the country to the verge of collapse, charged United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday in Parliament.

Joining the debate on extending Emergency Regulations for another 30 days, MP Gunawardena, highlighting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent example of two persons trying to drive the same car, said: “We heard the Prime Minister claiming difficulty in travelling in the same car driven by two drivers, in the absence of an agreement between them. Now the President has held that he is also unable to drive having such a Prime Minister in the front seat. This is hilarious. The country is in a serious situation where it is necessary to act responsibly.”

According to MP Gunawardena, the economy has come to a standstill, with most businesses finding it unprofitable to continue and considering closing their doors. “The constitutional issue between the President and the Prime Minister will come to an end by driving the country to an economic crisis. Almost all businesses have come to a stop and are at the verge of collapse,” he added.

Charging the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for failing to execute economic plans to rescue businesses from the looming crisis, MP Gunawardena said: “The Central Bank has failed to interfere effectively to solve the issue. The Governor of the Central Bank has failed to execute the promises made during the discussion the Leader of the Opposition had with the Prime Minister. Unrecovered cheques worth billions are with the Colombo business community.

They are unable to get money for these cheques.”

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