President Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not receive a mandate to ink agreements with foreign nations that could have long-term negative impacts on the country, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake says.

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill would drag Sri Lanka further into a tussle between great powers, Dissanayake said, yesterday.

“If we look at our immediate neighbourhood, India and China are in different camps. If Sri Lanka allies itself with one country, we will have to be ready to deal with the ire of the other.”

Dissanayake said the people had to decide whether they wanted to forge closer ties with China and approve the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill. This is why the JVP had filed an application, seeking a Supreme Court order for a referendum on the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill, MP Dissanayake said.

“Things are so bad that President Rajapaksa is threatening his own MPs who are against the Bill. Earlier on Friday MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakse claimed that the President had phoned him and threatened him because the latter publicly opposed the Port City Bill. It’s obvious that the government is not united. The SLPP constituents don’t see eye-to-eye on anything. Given this internal conflict, I don’t think we can expect an acceptable decision on the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill from the government.”