People want President’s resignation, not constitutional amendments: Kirielle

By Saman Indrajith

The SJB yesterday said that the draft 21st Amendment to the Constitution sent to them by Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakse was not what President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had promised to the people at his recent address to the nation.

Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s office in Colombo, Chief Opposition Whip and Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella said President Rajapaksa had in his address to the nation on 11 May said that reforms would be introduced to restore the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. “He promised to go beyond the 19th Amendment by vesting more powers in Parliament. But when we study the draft proposal we can understand that this is neither 19th Amendment plus nor the 18th Amendment but something that could be termed 18th Amendment Minus,” Kiriella said.

MP Kiriella said that the proposal had been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers by the Justice Minister and instead of giving their approval, the ministers had suggested that it be referred to political parties. “That process is questionable. The Cabinet should first say whether they approve this document before sending it to us. We want to know the standpoint of the government on this. The government should announce whether it endorses Wijayadasa Rajapakse’s draft. The country does not demand constitutional reforms. The nation demands that the President resign. The new Prime Minister came with the promise of rebuilding the economy, not rectifying the errors in the Constitution. Opinion is divided among the members of the government with regard to the proposed amendment. We call on the government not to waste time with cheap theatrics. The problem the government should address is an economic problem. We have neither rupees nor dollars. The government borrows 500 million dollars from India and runs the show. When it is over, they borrow another 500 million again from India. How long are they going to continue in this manner?”