Colombo, September 3 (newsin.asia): Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has asked members and supporters of his party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), to form an SLFP government in 2020 when parliamentary elections are held, and added that in the next government the President will be stripped off his powers and all power will be handed over to the Prime Minister as in a parliamentary form of government.
Addressing the SLFP Convention held to mark the 68 th., anniversary of the Party at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday, Sirisena said that in accordance with the 19 th., constitutional amendment, the next President will be powerless. Defence Ministry too will be with the Prime Minister, he added.
“Therefore, more than thinking of the next Presidential Election, the SLFP should pay attention to electing the next Prime Minister,” he urged.
Sirisena pointed out that the entire political system has become corrupt, dishonest and immoral.
“Our responsibility is to build a political force which is pure, incorrupt, people-oriented and ethical to oust the current governance of the corrupt, elitist and anti-people groups,” the Lankan President said lambasting the government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel as evident from the actions of some politicians, Sirisena said, and urged the people to properly study to understand who is the political leader suitable to lead the country.
President Sirisena spoke about the problems he had to face within the government.
“I fought within the government to prevent corruption, robberies and malpractices and to safeguard the interests of the people. Bank robbers and the corrupt should leave politics. All the documents are ready for the extradition of (former Central Bank Governor) Arjuna Mahendran. Documents are also ready to punish political leaders responsible for the bank scam,” he said.
The President said it is unfortunate that the Provincial Councils have become ineffective.
“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is mainly responsible for preventing Provincial Council polls from being held,” the President said and pointed out that the Prime Minister failed to present the Review Committee Report for reactivation of the Provincial Councils after the Bill was defeated in Parliament.
The President said that the government and opposition leaders hold discussions with the Northern leader (former Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran) purely to get Tamil votes.
“But nobody has a genuine plan. They are only thinking about the number of votes in the North of the country. It’s a tragedy.”
President Sirisena said that we should achieve a balanced development and the development process must be sustainable and an efficient. He also said that the country must move towards a green economy and use smart technology.
‘Even though whatever allegations were levelled against me for the past five years of my tenure, I was committed to building a corruption-free country as well as ensuring democracy’ the President.
He said the neo-liberal concept is not suitable for Sri Lanka.
“During my tenure, I was able to ensure maximum freedom and democracy in the country. As I said earlier, not a single civilian was targeted by the guns of the State apparatus. I am proud to state that no media institute or a house was burnt down, no journalists were threatened,” he said.
“We should create a country where every community can live in peace and harmony without any fear of intimidation. It is the duty of the citizen to build a strong force against corruption. Democracy in this country prevailed due to people’s resistance,” said the President and added, “We must gather ourselves to build a broad national movement based on our indigenous values.”
SLFP Senior Vice President Nimal Siripala de Silva, Prof Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera and SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera also addressed the gathering.
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, former Prime Minister D M Jayaratne, Ministers, Parliamentarians, leaders of political parties, ambassadors and SLFP members and supporters were present on this occasion.
