Sumanthiran calls for fresh parliamentary polls

Thursday, 20 April 2023 00:39 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Says President and Parliament have no mandate to pass bills and control the country through them
Claims people will not accept this status quo hence parliamentary election should be held
Proposes necessary bills should thereafter be passed by newly elected Govt.

TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M. A. Sumanthiran has called for the dissolution of parliament and for fresh parliamentary polls to be held in the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Jaffna on Monday, Sumanthiran said despite the President’s attempts to pass various bills through Parliament, he nor the Government has the mandate of the people to do so. “This is why the President, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister had to step down. After all the resignations we cannot still claim this Government has a mandate. Even the President has no mandate as he was rejected by the people,” Sumanthiran said.

According to Sumanthiran despite President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s initial assurances that the IMF agreement will be revealed in its entirety, Wickremesinghe later claimed it was confidential and could not be revealed without IMF approval. “Now it is to be submitted before Parliament but the relevant documents have not been made available yet. Nevertheless, the IMF has instructed the Government to pass the agreement through Parliament but the Parliament does not reflect the people’s mandate,” he said.

Sumanthiran said this is the reasoning behind his calls to dissolve Parliament and for fresh elections to be held. “If the President thinks he can bring various bills and pass them through Parliament in order to control the country, he is mistaken. The people will not accept that,” the MP said. The MP proposed that a new Government elected through an election thereafter can pass the necessary bills on behalf of the country’s people.

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