JVP urges President to make clear his stance on 19th Amendment

Wednesday, 8 April 2015 00:52 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing the media yesterday at the Pelawatta Head Office - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara By Waruni Paranagamage The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday urged President Maithripala Sirisena to announce his stance on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution as he has still not clearly expressed his opinion on the matter. JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing a media conference in Colombo said that President Sirisena, as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), should call a meeting of the SLFP Executive Council to get their support to obtain a two-thirds majority in Parliament to get the 19th Amendment approved. “President Sirisena is not taking any action to get the 19th Amendment implemented. So far he has remained silent on the matter. Therefore we urge him to make his stance on the 19th Amendment clear to the public,” Dissanayake said. He further asserted that although the JVP was against some of the points mentioned in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, they would still support this draft bill as this was the first opportunity the country had received to trim the powers of the executive presidency. “In the amendment the National Procurement Commission and the National Audit Commission have been included to investigate financial corruption cases that could take place during Government transactions,” Dissanayake said. He also expressed his displeasure over the Government not taking into consideration proposals made by the JVP to the 19th Amendment such as reducing the number of Ministers and Deputy Ministers to 60. “Even though 18 amendments have been introduced to the Constitution, the 19th Amendment is the most democratic amendment from all of these,” he said. He also stated that though some political parties had been insisting that a new electoral system should be introduced along with the 19th Amendment, the Election Chief had said that this would take time as it would require about a year for people to understand the changes of the new electoral system. “Some parties want to bring these two amendments together to delay the process of the 19th Amendment from getting approved in Parliament. Therefore they are trying to create a conflict with these two proposals,” Dissanayake said. He also added that some SLFP Parliamentarians in the Coalition Government were against holding an election after the 100-day program because they feared they might lose their parliamentary seats.

JVP says ‘conspiracy’ to prevent 19th Amendment passage

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says there is a conspiracy to prevent the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in Parliament. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said at a media briefing that no effort was seen from President Maithripala Sirisena to get the amendment passed and there was a certain suspicion that the President has a part in the efforts to prevent its passage in Parliament. Referring to the General Secretary of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka’s call to defeat the amendment, the JVP leader said the he may have had the President’s backing for the call. “The voice may be Champika’s but the hand could be the President’s,” Dissanayake said. He added that these efforts must definitely be defeated and every Parliamentarian was entrusted with a significant responsibility in this regard.