The question of the UNP and the SLFP launching discussions on the Constitution making process doesn’t arise as the Constitutional Assembly was set up with the consent of all political parties in Parliament while six Sub Committees and a main Steering Committee were also appointed to initiate this process, Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
“At present, the Constitution making process is going on with the consent of all parties. Our key area is what the country really needs. We are not going to draft a UNP Constitution or SLFP Constitution. The Constitution is for the Republic of Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is not a matter of UNP or SLFP. All will have to agree as to what is best for the country,” the Minister said.
Minister Rajapakshe said when the Common Candidate was brought forward at the last Presidential election; we promised to the people, until a new Constitution is formulated, we will move amendments to the existing Constitution to accommodate immediate and urgent changes. This we have already done.
However, the Minister said whether the people need a new constitution or not is basically not for the politicians and it is for the people themselves to decide. There has to be a serious dialogue when a new Constitution is going to be drafted. Unless, we have such a dialogue, we can’t bring a new constitution.
Science, Technology and Research Minister Susil Premajayantha told the Sunday Observer that at this juncture, the SLFP’s position is that it is not appropriate to introduce a new constitution. At present, there are some burning issues faced by the public. First of all, we have to address these issues irrespective of nationality. There are possibilities of amending the Constitution to address such issues without going for a referendum. Minister Premajayantha said they are against any kind of a Federal Constitution. The SLFP is always for the unitary status of the country and for an undivided Sri Lanka to safeguard national sovereignty. Policy-making, health, education and agriculture should be exclusively with the Central Government.
“At present, we are not for the full abolition of the Executive Presidency. There can be certain amendments regarding the Presidential powers. We have reduced certain such powers to the maximum under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. If we do away with the Executive Presidency, definitely we would have to go for a referendum.”
The Minister said, “If we think of devolution and at the same time abolish the Executive Presidency, there will be a constitutional crisis in the future. We have to consider all these aspects very carefully so we need ample time for it. Those are the key areas that we were discussing and there is no finality reached as yet.”