Govt. elected to fix past mistakes now repeating them - Harshana Rajakaruna

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Harshana Rajakaruna says the ruling National peoples' Power (NPP) government is betraying its own reform mandate by pushing through legislation that echoes the constitutional excesses of previous governments.

He made these remarks in parliament yesterday (25), noting that a government voted into office to correct past errors was instead repeating them.

Rajakaruna said that his party had opposed damaging constitutional amendments introduced by earlier governments and that this consistent record gave the opposition standing to object when current policy appeared to follow the same pattern.

He said that the government's parliamentary conduct in recent weeks stood in sharp contrast to the promises it had made on the campaign trail, and he said this gap between rhetoric and action could not be allowed to pass without scrutiny.

Rajakaruna said that formal objections to the disputed bill had come from several quarters, including the Chief Prelates, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and the United Nations, all of whom had cautioned the government against proceeding with the legislation.

He said that none of these representations were given serious consideration, and claimed the government had effectively discarded the communication sent by the Chief Prelates without proper response.

He described this as evidence that the Dissanayake government was unwilling to engage with legitimate institutional concern, whether raised locally or internationally.

Rajakaruna also called on the government to protect the independence of the court system and to resist what he described as growing political influence over judicial affairs centred on "Pelawatte".

He said the concerns he was raising were not confined to the opposition benches, noting that domestic professional bodies and international observers had voiced similar unease over the direction of the proposed changes.