Many Government Ministers and SLPP Parliamentarians have urged Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa to enter Parliament and serve the country with greater vigour.
Government lawmakers said that the winning combination of Gotabaya-Mahinda-Basil is needed more than ever at a time the country is facing a pandemic. A majority of the ruling SLPP MPs who entered Parliament through the National List have said that they are ready to sacrifice their seat to make way for SLPP architect Rajapaksa. Speculation is rife in political circles that Rajapaksa will be sworn in as an MP on July 6 and he will be given an important ministerial portfolio.
Timely need
Speaking on behalf of Government lawmakers, State Minister Nimal Lanza said the representation of Basil Rajapaksa, the Chief of the Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Alleviation, in Parliament is a timely need. State Minister Lanza told the media in Colombo that Rajapaksa played a significant role in the economic management and development of the country and took action to elevate Sri Lanka to a high level of development. He said the former Economic Development Minister Rajapaksa contributed to a number of programs including Uthuru Wasanthaya, Nagenahira Navodaya and the improvement of the rural economy.
State Minister Dilum Amunugama told journalists in Kandy that Presidential Task Force Head Basil Rajapaksa, who was instrumental in building the SLPP, will extend his maximum strength and support to the Government by entering Parliament. He said that as Economic Development Minister during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure, Basil Rajapaksa had done a great deal to uplift the country’s economy and that he has a wide range of experience and vision in economic management.
State Minister Amunugama also said that Basil Rajapaksa should have entered Parliament at the initial point of forming the government. “Members of Parliament continued requesting him in Parliament. He continued to postpone his entry to Parliament while supporting the Government staying outside of Parliament. Currently, the Covid-19 vaccination program and the fertiliser program are successfully being implemented under the guidance of Basil Rajapaksa.”
New trend
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said the previous Governments, on a number of occasions, had tried to convert into organic agriculture, however, the reasons for their failure would be studied and the new program will be implemented to rectify those errors.
He said some people try to show this as a reverse journey, however, the use of organic fertiliser, which is a new trend in the world, would take the country on a new path of agrarian economy.
The President expressed these views during a meeting with the District Farmers Representatives of Sri Lanka National Farmers’ Organisation at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday (July 1). The District Farmers’ representatives, on behalf of 1.1 million farmers across the island, urged the President not to reverse the steps taken to use organic fertiliser.
The farmers’ representatives said that it was their absolute duty and responsibility to return to traditional farming methods and provide the people with a non-toxic healthy diet. They said that the citizenry will be grateful to the President for his decision to nourish a healthy next generation for Sri Lanka.
They assured that all farmers in the country would support President Rajapaksa in overcoming the challenge of going for agriculture based on organic fertiliser, as a team, for the benefit of all people in Sri Lanka like how the country once faced the challenge of concluding the battle against terrorism.
Not a sudden decision
President Rajapaksa has briefed the farmers’ representatives on the measures to be taken by the Government to address the use of organic fertiliser. He said that this was not a sudden decision and this initiative was launched to fulfil a promise made in his “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” policy statement, as the Presidential candidate.
The President outlined the Government’s plans to create an environment where the farmers will be able to receive a part of the Rs. 80,000 million spent annually on the import of chemical fertiliser, while protecting the future generations from non-communicable diseases. The President has assured that the income earned by the farmers will not be reduced and if it does, the Government will compensate the farmer and he will not have to suffer.
Contradiction
Government lawmakers said that they would defeat the SJB sponsored No Confidence Motion (NOM) against Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila with an overwhelming majority in Parliament.
The NCM, signed by 43 SJB MPs, contains 10 counts against Minister Gammanpila over the recent fuel price hike. At the same time, the NCM against Minister Gammanpila has given yet another chance for the Government to close ranks despite the differences of opinions among its partners on various political and policy matters.
Government lawmakers said that whatever futile attempts are made by the main Opposition SJB; they would definitely defeat the NCM by 151 votes in Parliament. The SJB sponsored NCM contradicts SJB Leader and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s initial position on the matter.
Following the controversial press statement by SLPP General Secretary MP Sagara Kariyawasam, which called for the subject Minister’s resignation, Premadasa promptly commented that it was unfair to put the entire blame of the fuel price hike on one Minister, adding that it was the collective responsibility of the Government and the Cabinet.
SLFP General Secretary and State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara said that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has no intention of supporting the SJB sponsored No-Confidence Motion against Minister Udaya Gammanpila.
He said the decision to increase fuel prices was not taken by Minister Gammanpila alone and that decision had been taken by the Committee of the Cost of Living. Subsequently, that decision had been forwarded and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers for implementation. Hence, Minister Udaya Gammanpila is not responsible for the fuel price hike.
Jayasekera said, “The sole authority of appointing Ministers is the President of this country. All patriotic political parties in the country have to support the ruling party to overcome the present challenges in the country. The Opposition should not ‘fish in troubled waters’ but act in a responsible manner with the people’s interests at heart, when the Nation is trying to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic.”
There was a lot of media and public interest in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s recent address to the nation. The President in his lengthy and well measured speech made it clear that he is determined to walk the path he envisaged while surviving the multiple storms. Wrapping up his 69-minute-long speech, the President said, “When history is written, it will mention the hard times we are now in. But amid those difficulties, it is up to us to decide whether we will succeed or not.”
“When I contested the Presidential Election, many asked me to take the leadership for the sake of the country. They had no personal requests, but after I came to power, some were angry with the Government for not fulfilling their personal demands. They are now harshly criticising the Government. They are attempting to portray that the Government is a failure, to discredit it. I do not plan to change my policies to please a few, but to implement the ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ for the people as I promised.”
The President said, “I am ready to lead you today as I did then. I will fulfil my responsibility without fail. I believe that the wise people, who love the country and are ready to take responsibility for future generations, will continue to support me and my Government in achieving our goals.”
However, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarians were critical of the President’s speech, complaining that it did not focus on the people’s burning issues and that it presented no proper work plan to get the country out of its economic quagmire. They claimed that it was more like a propaganda speech in the face of the waning popularity of the Government.
SJB Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha de Silva said, “Mere words will not be enough to convince the people. What is needed is action. The President accused the Yahapalana Government over the current feeble state of the country. The accumulated debt of the country was largely due to vanity projects of the Government from 2010 to 2015. It is a twist of fate that the highest sum of debt servicing has fallen on the shoulders of the incumbent Government.”
However, Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told journalists that the apparent reaction by certain sections to the President’s address to the nation was nothing new.
The Minister said, “Any negative response is natural and expected and that has happened in the past as well. We will respond to criticism if needed. I am sure these issues will be raised in Parliament next week and as a Government we are ready to respond.”
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Lawyers’ Association has called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to bring former Minister Basil Rajapaksa to Parliament and the Cabinet. The SLPP Lawyers’ Association members who held a press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on Thursday (July 1) said Basil Rajapaksa’s entry into Parliament and the Cabinet will help the country move in the right direction. SLPP Lawyers’ Association President, W. Dayaratne PC said Basil Rajapaksa’s statesmanship and the ability to hold fast unto long-term and broad-based economic development plans had seen the country through economic crises in the past.
Dayaratne recalled that the country had achieved an economic growth of over seven percent during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government when Basil Rajapaksa was Economic Development Minister. “He achieved remarkable structural changes in the country’s economy and made Sri Lanka one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia.”
The Association’s Secretary, Attorney-at-Law Athula de Silva said their countrywide membership of over 1,500 with representation in all provinces, including the Northern and the Eastern provinces, has conveyed to the President that Basil Rajapaksa should play a role that enhances the responsibilities of Executive and Legislative branches of the Government.
Two more Ministerial portfolios
There is media speculation that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is hopeful of receiving two more Cabinet Ministerial portfolios and two more State Ministerial portfolios within the next couple of weeks. An SLFP State Minister told the media the talks with regard to the above were in progress with the top authorities of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), adding that those had so far been fruitful. He said the President and the Prime Minister will arrive at a final decision on the matter soon.
United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said the Party can make a strong comeback soon. He said this is with a number of local authority members who left the Party in the recent past returning to the fold again
The number of UNP members in Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas have risen to a level which was only second to that of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. Bandara said the UNP now has nearly 1,500 Local Government members.
Bandara said that although the number of UNP members in LG bodies had diminished with many pledging their support to the Samagi Jana Balawegaya formed with a breakaway group from the Party, now the trend was reversing. The UNP General Secretary predicted that more Local Government members who had supported the Samagi Jana Balawegaya would soon rejoin the UNP. He said that even those who had not yet joined the UNP would have to join the UNP as they could not remain as political orphans.