Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe resigns from Constitutional Council

Former Justice Minister and United National Party Parliamentarian Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has tendered his resignation from the Constitutional Council to President Maithripala Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday.

He was appointed to the Constitutional Council by the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan.

Constitutional Council is the responsible body to appoint members to the independent commissions such as bribery commission and election commission.

President Maithripala Sirisena in August 2017 removed MP Rajapakshe from the portfolios of minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana Affairs after the UNP made the request to the President. To remove him from the post.

The party alleged that MP Rajapakshe of violating the collective responsibility of the party and the cabinet after he made false statements criticizing the government ministers and government policies.

MP Rajapakshe has been accused of breaching the collective responsibility of the cabinet when he purportedly made a statement to a local newspaper that he “will not look back until he cancels the Hambantota sale” regarding the lease of Hambanthota Port to a Chinese company.