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NMSJ led by Karu demands abolition of 20A

Published

4 years ago

2022/01/21

The 20th amendment to the Constitution must be abolished and a new Constitution acceptable to all Sri Lankan citizens introduced expeditiously, Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) and former Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday (20) at a press conference.

Jaysuriya said: “We do not constantly draw attention to these issues without a valid cause. Our sole and sincere objective is to at least, after 73 years of independence, restore the long lost justice, fairness, unity and quality of life of our people. It is a responsibility that must be undertaken by the existing government.

“When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa inaugurated the Second Session of the 9th Parliament last Tuesday, he stated that steps have been taken to introduce a new Constitution. Therefore, we once again stress to the government that the proposed Constitution should be one presented by the people and Parliament. It should not be a Constitution drafted by government-appointed representatives as a majority in the country is not agreeable to the formation of a new Constitution through this process.

“Last week, we requested the President to inform the public of the government’s plans relating to this endeavour. I urge the government to take steps to make the public aware of the planned constitutional reform process prior to February 4 while pointing out that further delays would be unfavourable. We are speaking on behalf of the people to ensure that the promises made to them are fulfilled.

“We as a country today have a number of issues that need to be addressed urgently. It must be understood that the everyday lives of the people have been disrupted due to the lack of foreign exchange. This should not be taken as a criticism and instead be understood as a pertinent issue that must be addressed and resolved.

“However, the government has failed to take necessary action to resolve the matter and this is causing great harm. Instead of allowing two ministries to engage in a game of tug of war to secure foreign exchange, the government must take the lead to bring about a solution to the issue. The government cannot leave it to the ministries and wash their hands off the matter. The Minister of Finance in particular has a great responsibility to bear in this situation.

“If we are not able to solve this dilemma within the next few days, it must be pointed out that public life, the economy and the production process will collapse.

“As an independent civil society organisation, the National Movement for Social Justice constantly monitors parliamentary proceedings with great interest. With the commencement of the Second Session of the 9th Parliament, we urge the government to appoint the parliamentary committees that were dissolved following the prorogation of Parliament.

“We make this request not for political reasons but because we sincerely appreciate the dedicated, impartial and exemplary manner in which the parliamentary watchdog committees, the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) and the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) have acted in the recent past.

“We strongly believe that the services of Prof. Charitha Herath, Prof. Tissa Vitharana and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who served as Chairs of these Committees, should be further utilised in the future to better serve the interests of our people.

“It also must be noted that we sincerely hoped for a presidential pardon to be granted to veteran artiste Ranjan Ramanayake, especially at a time when the conversation on ‘One Country, One Law’ policy has come to the fore. However, the National Movement for Social Justice declares that our country is still not governed by ‘One Law’ but by unjust decisions that have been made based on political reasons.Therefore, it can only be said that the discriminatory treatment meted out to certain individuals solely based on political reasons is an inhumane form of hypocritical revenge.”

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PM on inspection tour of newly renovated Colombo Central Bus Stand

Published

11 hours ago

2026/04/10

Priyan

The Colombo Central Bus Stand, which has a history of over six decades and had remained without a proper maintenance for many years, has now been renovated under the current government’s development programme and vested to the public. Following that, the Prime Minister undertook an inspection tour of the newly renovated Colombo Central Bus Stand.

Originally constructed in 1964, the bus stand was refurbished with modern facilities to meet current needs and was officially reopened to the public on April 8. The primary objective of this initiative is to provide passengers with a higher-quality and more comfortable transportation service.

During the renovation process, special attention has been given to the comfort and safety of women, which was commended by the Prime Minister. In particular, a modern rest area designed to ensure privacy for nursing mothers travelling from distant areas received special praise.

The Prime Minister also reviewed the newly introduced passenger seat reservation system and information services established to assist commuters. In addition, the modern surveillance unit and other security measures installed within the premises to ensure passenger safety were also inspected.

During the visit, the Prime Minister engaged in conversations with passengers at the bus stand and inquired about their views on the newly renovated facilities and the quality of transport services.

It was emphasized that the government’s objective is to transform public transportation into a safe, technologically advanced service that can be used with convenience by all citizens.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

Latest News

Sun directly overhead Nagawilluwa, Galgamuwa, Sigiriya, Palugasdamana and Mankerni about 12:11 noon today (10)

Published

12 hours ago

2026/04/10

Priyan

On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from the 05th to 15th of April in this year.

The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (10th) are Nagawilluwa, Galgamuwa, Sigiriya, Palugasdamana and Mankerni about 12:11 noon.

News

Opposition tells Minister Kumara Jayakody to resign

Published

13 hours ago

2026/04/10

Thilina Walpola

Prof. Peiris

No-faith motion to be taken up today

Former Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday (9) said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake should remove Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody unless the minister stepped down on his own.Prof. Peiris, addressing a press conference called by the Opposition, said that Jayakody couldn’t under any circumstance continue to serve as a minister after the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) moved the Colombo High Court against the government member over a previous financial scandal.

Pointing out that Minister Jayakody had been indicted of a corrupt deal struck during the yahapalana regime, Prof. Peiris said it was wrong for the NPP to retain him as a minister, claiming that the offence was not committed during his tenure as a Cabinet minister in the current government.

Prof. Peiris and several other Opposition members dealt with the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Jayakody that would be taken up today (10) with the academic calling the vote an acid test for the NPP. Having campaigned on an anti-corruption platform at presidential and parliamentary polls, the NPP couldn’t protect Jayakody though he was widely believed to be close to President Dissanayake.

As the Manager of the Procurement and Import Division of the Ceylon Fertilizer Company, Jayakody is alleged to have committed the offence of corruption, according to CIABOC.

Jayakody has been accused of causing a loss of Rs. 8,859,708 to the State by influencing and exploiting the procurement process.

Following the serving of indictments on 27 March, the judge ordered Jayakody’s release on two personal bail bonds of Rs. 1 million each. The court directed that the defendant’s fingerprints be obtained and a formal report be submitted. The case has been scheduled for a pre-trial conference on 6 May.

Prof. Peiris stressed that the CIABOC action against Jayakody is central to the NCM primarily moved over the irregularities ridden coal procurement process launched in 2025 that caused severe disruption to the power generation. Responding to The Island query after the media briefing, Prof Peiris expressed surprise that the JVP/NPP accommodated a person under investigation by the CIABOC. Having taken an utterly irresponsible decision, the JVP/NPP were now playing down the developing issue, prof. Peiris said.

The entire government parliamentary group faced the prospect of having its image tarnished by defending Jayakody, the former lawmaker said.

Prof. Peiris said that they intended to build a campaign around the issues involving the energy minister to expose the government. With yet another electricity tariff hike in the offing due to the growing demand for thermal generation as a result of coal-fired Lakvijaya power plant’s failure to meet the requirement[RA1] , the energy minister and ministry’s performances have to be examined, Prof. Peiris said.The timely release of the Auditor General’s report on controversial coal procurement should compel the government to decide on the energy minister’s fate or be prepared to face the fallout.

By Shamindra Ferdinando