News
If President respects opinion of House, he should first conduct elections, says Kiriella
By Saman Indrajith
The SJB has urged President Ranil Wickremesinghe to prove his claim that he respects the opinion of Parliament by holding elections. Addressing the media in Colombo on Saturday, Chief Opposition Whip, Kandy District SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella said that the President had said the government would heed only the opinion of Parliament as regards the domestic debt optimisation process. “If so, the Executive should release the funds to conduct elections. The same Parliament passed Rs 10 billion in the last Budget for conducting local council polls this year. If the President respects the opinion of the House he should release the funds allocated by Parliament for elections. He should not be selective in respecting the opinion of Parliament, Kiriella said, adding that the incumbent government would not hold elections as long as its survey reports indicate a debilitating defeat for it. “The of surveys conducted by the government itself have predicted a humiliating defeat for the ruling alliance if the elections are held. If the surveys and opinion polls had predicted otherwise, the government would have gone for elections. As long as this situation remains, it will not dare to hold elections,” Kiriella said.
The government and its ministers were speaking of ways and means of dissolving powers to provinces and grassroots, Kiriella said. “This, too, is not a genuine effort to devolve powers. How could one expect the government to devolve powers to provinces and grassroots when it keeps postponing the Provincial Council and Local Government polls?”
Following the conclusion of bilateral discussions between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, official-level talks between the delegations of Sri Lanka and India commenced this morning (05) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath; Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Anil Jayantha; Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake; Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, along with other senior officials.
The Indian delegation included Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and His Excellency Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, along with several other senior officials of the Government of India.
Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who arrived in Sri Lanka on the invitation of President Anura Kumara Disanayake on Friday [04] night, visited the Presidential Secretariat this morning (05).
The Indian Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by President Anura Kumara Disanayake upon his arrival at the Presidential Secretariat.
Prime Minister Modi is currently on a state visit to Sri Lanka, reaffirming the theme “Friendship of Centuries — Commitment to a Prosperous Future” which symbolises the longstanding ties between Sri Lanka and India. The Indian Premier is scheduled to remain in the country until tomorrow (06).
[PMD]
The official welcoming ceremony for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was held this morning (05) at the Independence Square in Colombo.
On arrival at the Independence Square the Indian Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
Discussions between Sri Lankan and Indian delegations at the presidential secretariat
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Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi arrives at the presidential secretariat
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