Rathana Thero says majority in House should be given power

UNP MP Athuraliye Rathana Thero, who joined the UPFA, addressing the Parliament – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara 

By Ashwin Hemmathagama, 

Our Lobby Correspondent

UNP MP Athuraliye Rathana Thero, who joined the UPFA ranks in a recent crossover, yesterday conceded that the majority should be given power in Parliament and called for a power sharing mechanism that would be supported by President Sirisena. 

He confirmed to the House that the President was unable to accept the truth of the UNP commanding a majority in Parliament and suggested that a caretaker government with all parties should be established for six months so that an election could be held and end the current political standoff. 

Proposing the UNP allow UPFA to enjoy power with them for a while, the Thero said: “I propose that we need to prepare a national policy enabling both sides to be in power for a limited period.”

The Thero, challenging the decisions taken during the coalition Government, held that transparency was lacking and the country has entered a situation where it could see adverse impacts with certain foreign countries. 

“Today, we have a crisis where there is a disagreement between Judiciary, Executive, and the Legislature. The Singapore agreement lacked transparency. It should have been discussed with traders and associations. We should have prepared a national trade policy. China had this issue a long time ago. 

They changed their laws to prevent hazardous items from coming into their country. We never had a national policy for these critical issues,” he said. According to Rathana Thero, he had helped to establish the coalition Government and elect the President as the common candidate.