… calls for interim set-up before presidential and general elections

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) lawmaker Manusha Nanayakkara says the main Opposition party wouldn’t, under any circumstances, accept the so-called SLPP dissident group’s proposal to form an interim administration.

The SJB parliamentary group comprises 54 members, though one of its National List nominees Diana Gamage has switched her allegiance to the SLPP.

Responding to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s plea for political parties, represented in Parliament, to join an interim administration for the sake of the country, the Galle District lawmaker emphasised that the SJB was insisting on an administration, devoid of the Rajapaksas.

MP Nanayakkara said that the growing public disenchantment couldn’t be suppressed by the proposal pertaining to the formation of an all-party interim administration.

Addressing the media in Colombo, yesterday, lawmaker Nanayakkara claimed that the Rajapaksas had amassed ill-gotten money and should hand them back to the country and leave public office once and for all.

Nanayakkara, a political turncoat several times in the past, claimed that the dissident group was making a desperate bid to save the Rajapaksas by forming an interim administration. The MP questioned the circumstances and the legality of members of the Cabinet handing over a letter of resignation, comprising signatures of all, to Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The top SJB spokesperson who is also at the forefront of high profile campaign demanding justice for 2019 Easter Sunday

victims emphasized that protest campaign would continue until the Rajapaksas left public office. Though he himself was in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government having crossed over from the UNP, the SJB MP said the Rajapaksas ruined the country and was now making another bid to hang onto power at any cost.

Demanding that a political setup should take charge of the country temporarily until an early general election could be held, lawmaker Nanayakkara insisted that there couldn’t be any Rajapaksa agents in an interim administration.

MP Nanayakkara warned of further intensification of protests unless the government stopped efforts to consolidate power through devious means.

Urging President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down, the SJB spokesperson said: “The Parliament can decide on one of its members, a professional to function as the President for the time being. If that is not acceptable, a suitable person can be brought into the Parliament on the National List and that person subsequently named the President. Appoint professionals to the cabinet of ministers as well. Get those knowledgeable in handing current issues to enable the proper management for the time being before the next presidential and parliamentary polls could be held, simultaneously.

The MP urged the government to reach a consensus on a political mechanism to revive the national economy without delay. The failure to do so could end in bloodshed, the MP said, underscoring their responsibility to prevent large scale confrontations between the military and the protesters.

The SJB spokesman strongly condemned claims by a section of the Maha Sangha that Muslim extremists launched the unprecedented Mirihana protest. The MP urged those monks affiliated with the ruling family and the current dispensation not to fan the flames of ethnic tensions. The country couldn’t afford another round of devastating ethnic violence, the lawmaker said, urging the public to be extremely careful of some elements resorting to demonic strategies.

Lawmaker Nanayakkara sought an explanation regarding the shifting of Air Mobile troops from the provinces to Colombo and positioning of other fresh detachments of troops in the City and its suburbs. The MP urged the government not to deploy the armed forces to quell political opposition. The MP also requested the military not to get entangled in a purely political situation created by the current dispensation and wrong policies pursued by the Rajapaksas over a period of time.

The military confirmed the deployment of Air Mobile troops.

The SJB boycotted recently launched initiative-All Party Conference (APC) meant to find solutions to the deepening economic crisis.

Nanayakkara asserted that the country couldn’t allow the current situation to continue or further deteriorate. Therefore, solutions were required soon to prevent further public protests leading to violence.