No special powers given to President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa by 20th Amendment

State Minister for Rural Roads and Other Infrastructure – Nimal Lanza

State Minister for Rural Roads and Other Infrastructure Nimal Lanza has said that President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa will not be given any special powers under the 20th Amendment and this will give him less power than previous Presidents.

State Minister, Nimal Lanza expressed these views while inaugurating road development projects in the Nuwara Eliya District recently.

Minister  further stated, ”Former Presidents J.R.  Jayewardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa, DB Wijetunga, Chandrika Bandaranaike, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena received more power than Gotabhaya Rajapaksha will receive under the 20th amendment. . This is the same situation as before 19. There is no strange power.

”69 lakhs of people have voted for the President to abolish 19. We saw because of 19 th amendment, the economy was destroyed. On the other hand, the security of the country deteriorated. The Central Bank was robbed. We do not want such a Constitution. We clearly told the people that the 19th amendment would be changed. The people also gave their approval during the presidential election. Even in the parliamentary election the people have given their approval with a two thirds majority.

”We will present the 20th Amendment to Parliament on Oct. 22 and pass it by a two-thirds majority, removing the obstacles to the economy and other development that the people of the country expect from the President and giving the President the strength to move the country forward in line with the “Prosperity Vision” set of policies.”