Amunugama faults statements against President

Friday, 24 November 2017 00:00 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

 

  • Says criticism should not have been voiced in public, wants elections soon 

Special Assignments Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama yesterday faulted Development Strategies and International Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe for making negative statements about President Maithripala Sirisena, insisting any issues could have been ironed out behind closed doors. 

Responding to questions, Dr. Amunugama told reporters that disagreements were natural in a coalition Government but systems existed to address these in an amicable manner. He also pointed out that making statements about the president in public was unfair as Sirisena could not respond to the accusations made by Senasinghe. 

“The president meets with UNP ministers and other members all the time. We meet weekly to discuss issues. This could have been brought up at one such forum. We may also have problems with the UNP but that does not mean we go around making statements in public. That is not effective conflict resolution,” he said.

Dr. Amunugama also touched on Local Government elections, insisting that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) was ready to face polls and had already picked their candidates and started campaigning many months ago. 

“We have picked many new and interesting candidates. They are young and not tainted by any corruption allegations and we are excited to see how they will perform. Our view has always been that elections should be held as early as possible.” (UJ)    

 

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