State Minister Weerasekara stands his ground on inviolability of unitary status

State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs Rear Admiral (Retd) Sarath Weerasekera says he has been against the Provincial Councils right from the beginning and there is no change of that standpoint even though he has been appointed as the minister in charge of them.

 Speaking at a ceremony held at the Sri Wickramasingharamaya in Dematagoda on Tuesday, the Minister said that it was his primary duty to ascertain whether the provincial council system should be continued.

“The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is something that was forced on us. It is with that amendment the provincial councils came. The plan was to turn the country into a federal state. It has been averted thanks to the Governor’s post in the each provincial council, the country is safe. But the threat is still there. We have to eliminate it. CV Wigneswaran as the chief minister of Northern Province went on marches demanding that Buddha statues be removed from that province. If the position of chief minister is given more powers there is a danger of province declaring autonomy. If we do not defeat these sinister forces we will not escape from the curse of future generations. It is our paramount duty to protect and safeguard the unitary status of this country.”