The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has dismissed as contradictory the allegations being levelled against Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa over the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution and his current political conduct.
The party made its position clear at a press conference held at its headquarters in Pitakotte, where SJB Teldeniya organiser and Working Committee member Mahesh Senanayake addressed journalists on the matter.
Senanayake said that the ruling party had earlier accused Sajith Premadasa of engineering opposition to the 22nd Amendment through the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.
He said it was ironic that certain non-parliamentary opposition groups were now making the opposite claim, alleging that the Opposition Leader was instead negotiating deals with the government.
He said one camp accused Premadasa of mobilising resistance to the amendment while another accused him of siding with the government, and noted that both claims could not logically stand together.
He said that these allegations were baseless and stated that Sajith Premadasa's only commitment was to the people of the country.
Senanayake also noted that the SJB remained the official opposition, having been chosen through a popular mandate, and said the public was closely observing the conduct of self-declared joint opposition groups operating outside Parliament.
Senanayake said the proposed 22nd Amendment and the question of judicial independence had generated debate both within Sri Lanka and abroad.
He noted that bodies such as the International Commission of Jurists and the Asian Bar Association, along with UN Special Rapporteurs, were following developments relating to judicial independence and democratic governance in the country.
He said a responsible government was obliged to respond to such international queries with clarity and transparency, adding that failure to do so would only invite further scrutiny of the country's democratic institutions.
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