Will build support for Ravi K. motion: Ranil

Thursday, 22 November 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Insists UNP, TNA, JVP have majority and will continue battle to uphold Constitution
Says not afraid of elections but polls must be held by restoring order in P’ment
Stresses decision to dissolve P’ment can only be made with all party consultations
Tells organisers time to build support for Constitution at grassroots level

United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said his party was looking at how to build support for a motion presented by a group of UNP Parliamentarians to limit access to public finance by the Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Addressing party organisers at Temple Trees, Wickremesinghe insisted that as the coalition parties of the United National Front (UNF) together with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) hold majority in Parliament.

Efforts would be made to see how this majority could be used when the motion submitted by UNP Deputy Leader Ravi Karunanayake is presented to the House. The motion, which was presented at the party leaders meeting before Parliament sessions on Monday, is likely to be presented on 29 October, though the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has vehemently opposed it.

“We have a clear majority in Parliament. If the other side feels that they have the majority, then they simply have to show it. There is no point in making statements outside of Parliament saying they have the majority when they can’t prove it in Parliament. When they cause chaos in Parliament, the public will see they do not have the majority,” he said.

Wickremesinghe noted that the motion was presented to Parliament after discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena, and it now remained for the UNP and other parties to decide on the way forward on how to support it.

The UNP leader insisted that pro-democratic forces within Parliament have the support of the citizenry and as such, the UNP remains steadfast to the cause of establishing democracy in Sri Lanka.

“It is now time for us to engage with people at the grassroots level and have a vibrant discussion with them about what is happening in Parliament and why it is an important battle for all citizens. We are doing all this to uphold the Constitution. We are not afraid of an election, as claimed by our detractors; we want to ensure that the sovereignty of the people is respected in Parliament first. Any election that is called by violating the Constitution and ignoring Parliament is not in accordance with democratic tradition. If an election is not called according to the Constitution, then its result can also be legally challenged,” Wickremesinghe said.

He pointed out that as the present Parliament received a mandate in 2015 to govern till 2020, the decision made regarding an election should be done with the participation of all political parties and not on the whims of one individual. He stressed that the anti-constitutional acts since 26 October have to be known to the public as it was their representatives who were responsible for this breach.

“Our aim is to restore the sovereignty of the people through Parliament. The President came to power saying he would abolish the Executive Presidency. Such a person cannot step on and destroy Parliament now. This cannot be allowed to happen. Those who are supporting an election are doing so because they have no other option.”