By Saman Indrajith

Justice Minister Ali Sabry told Parliament that the government would present the draft of a new Constitution to the House within one year.

Speaking during the debate on the second reading of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution on Thursday (22), the minister said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had appointed a committee comprising nine experts, including several President’s Counsel under the leadership of Romesh de Silva, PC, to draft a new Constitution.

 “We will also allow a representative from the estate-workers community in the the hill country to the committee of experts. We have appointed experts from all walks of life into this committee.

  “One cannot develop a country by merely establishing some fake commissions. We are dedicated to bring in a new Constitution within a year’s time. Our attempt is to bring in a Constitution which will uphold diversity among our people, give the foremost place to Buddhism, respect each other’s religious beliefs and cultural values and create a long lasting Constitution which is inclusive, forward looking and will serve as a catalyst for national unity, amity, progress and accelerate the economic growth of our country.

 “I think we need to show empathy and compassion. We respect our national anthem. It says that we should live as children of one mother. However, for all these decades we have not been able to live in harmony. There is a saying ‘United we stand, divided we fall’. When we fall, we fall together, irrespective of our race and religion; we will be dragging each other down. There are two strong bonds that bind all of us together, one is humanity, second is our nationality.

 “Delay in law is a major problem in the country at present. There are 4,000 cases before the Supreme Court. There are 4,000 cases before the Court of Appeal. There are only a very limited number of judges to hear all these cases. Since 1978, the number of judges has not increased in our country. In India, since 1978, they have increased the number of judges by three times. So we have brought in an amendment to solve this issue. I would like to invite all the Opposition MPs to support this amendment.”