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By Chathuri Dissanayake
Promising to protect the Government he helped to bring into power, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne yesterday said those who worked for the political change in 2015 would embark on a separate political journey if the coalition parties were unable to work together.
“A lot of sacrifices were made and we risked the lives of our families; we will do our best to protect this Government if there is anyone who is working to destroy the Government. If the President and the Prime Minister are not working together, then we will step out of the Government and make a proper statement; if things don›t work out we will step out. We are politicians, we didn’t come here aiming for positions; we came on principles and we will make a statement to our voters and go on a different political journey,» he said at the weekly Cabinet Press Briefing. The Minister was speaking in support of the 45-point-long Cabinet proposal presented by Minister Champika Ranawaka outlining program proposals for the way forward to ensure stability of the current Government.
The proposal, which comes amidst threats by the Joint Opposition to move a No Confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, contains 45 different items, sources within the Government said.
The paper outlines measures to be taken to address pressing social and economic issues in the country, the source said.
Although both parties in the Coalition Government pledged to take speedy remedial action to change course following the outcome of the Local Government (LG) polls, this is the first time such a proposal has been presented to the Cabinet for discussion. The paper is said to have proposed investing more in young members of both parties, giving them more responsibility.
As the proposal was submitted, the Minister has invited the rest of the Cabinet members to also contribute to the paper. Senaratne was quoted to have expressed support to Ranawaka’s proposal.
Although a report by the committee of young MPs of the United National Party was presented to Party Leader Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, he is yet to reveal the content. When the committee was appointed, the Premier promised to discuss the contents of the report once submitted with President Maithripala Sirisena and come to an agreement.
Deputy General Secretary of the United National Party and Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam says the purpose of bringing a No Confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is to prevent the Government taking legal action against the corruption, fraud and murders committed during the previous regime.
The Minister points out that this unsuccessful attempt is made to wash the sins of the Joint Opposition.
Minister Kariyawasam said no one in the UNP would support the No Confidence motion against the PM and he didn’t believe there were any impaired brains in the party.
The Minister further said those who loved the party as well as the country and those who wanted to punish the thieves would not support this No Confidence motion.
The Minister stressed that the No Confidence motion would definitely be defeated if it was tabled in Parliament.
The United National Party too had an internal discussion on Monday on the way forward for the Government and how best to tackle the No Confidence if submitted.
According to sources within the party, the membership unanimously agreed to support the Premier in the event of a No Confidence vote. Further the party also decided to not allow any Sri Lanka Freedom Party member who votes against the Premier to remain the Government.
Newly-appointed Law and Order Minister Ranjith Maddumabandara who was vocal on the need for party restructuring assured that restructuring would be carried out in the near future.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet press briefing he said that his stance on the need for restructuring remained the same even after the appointment.
