News

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentary group has unanimously decided to seek Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s resignation prior to the no-confidence vote this week.

The decision was taken after the SLFP MPs met with President Maithripala Sirisena last night for a discussion regarding the matter. The group has unanimously decided to request the UNP leader to resign as Prime Minister before the vote on the no-confidence motion which has been brought against him.

The debate in Parliament on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is set for April 4. President Sirisena also held discussions with the Prime Minister and UNP Cabinet Ministers at the President’s official residence last evening.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Buddha Sasana, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, who was in India last month, had keen to visit the famous Lingaraja temple in Odisha but was prevented by the temple priests.

The temple priests had refused to allow him entry as he was not a Hindu, according to the Indian Financial Express.

Perera relayed his experience at a conference organised by the Kalinga International Foundation at Bhubaneswar, to an embarrassed audience. The foundation’s chairman, former Indian foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh, apologised profusely on behalf of his state, the news report said.

The UNP will take stern disciplinary measures against the UNP members who will vote with the No Confidence Motion (NCM) that would be moved by the Joint Opposition against the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the whole government on April 4, Power and Renewable Energy State Minister Ajith P. Perera yesterday said.

He made this observation during a press conference held at the UNP Party headquarters 'Siri Kotha.

He said the UNP Working Committee has reached a decision to defeat the NCM, so those who acted against the decision would have to face disciplinary action.

The State Minister further said that so far it is not reported that the SLFP and the UPFA had reached such a decision.

Source : Daily News

If the government is unable to abolish the executive Presidency, a group of Ministers are requesting that Sajith Premadasa is nominated as the next Prime Minister for the upcoming 2020 Presidential election political sources said.

If a Presidential election is to be held in 2020 Wickramasinghe has already claimed to party seniors that he will contest for the Presidency.

He is said to have stressed this when he met some Ministers yesterday when asked as to who the party will field as its 2020 Presidential candidate.

According to sources several Ministers claiming to support the NCM such as Palitha Range Bandara, Wasantha Senanayajke had been in attendance.

When questioned about this claim however a UNP senior leader said it was a merely April fools joke by the PM.

Madura Vithanage of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has been elected as the Mayor of the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council.

Vithanage secured a total of 23 votes.

A team of officials of Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) has arrived at Kandy area to apprehend the suspects involved in Kandy incident.

Several more suspects have are due to be arrested on CCTV footage and other information recovered, said police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara.

Four more suspects including a former army soldier were arrested yesterday (01) in connection with the recent incidents of violence in Kandy. They were arrested on suspicion by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), he said.

Several suspects including one of the main instigators Amith Jeewan Weerasinghe are currently in remand custody over the attacks.

Meanwhile a recently-elected SLPP member of the Kundasale Pradeshiya Sabha was also arrested by the TID on March 28 for causing damages to businesses and places of religious worship at Digana, Kandy.

Source : Ada Derana

A new chairman and four members of the board for SriLankan Airlines have been appointed. The new appointments come after the resignation letters of the previous board was accepted on March 29.

Ranjith Fernando was appointed as Chairman while Mano Thiththawella, Susantha Katugampola, Doctor Roshan Perera and Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy were appointed to the board of directors.

Certain members of the Joint Opposition are said to be worried that Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will support Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe in the upcoming no-confidence motion if a secret vote is called in parliament on April 4.

According to sources, the members are of this opinion due to comments being made by Basil’s supporters against the no-confidence motion.

While Dinesh Gunawardena was set to seek for a secret vote in order to get the maximum support from the UNP and SLFP MPs however he is said to have changed his mind due to this reason.

Ranil supporters within the JO?

Several members of the JO are said to be on a mission to save the PM from the no-confidence motion. These members were noticed when they tried to disrupt the handing over of the no-confidence motion to the speaker according to the Lanka C News website managed by MP Wimal Weerawansa.

These members are attempting to disrupt the no-confidence motion due to the unfavourable circumstances being faced by the PM.

"As the leader of the UNP, each time the Prime Minister faced a difficult situation, the former President always supported him”

- Ranjan Ramanayake

 Why did Mahinda not sign the no-confidence motion?

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake has said the Former President did not sign the no-confidence motion “as a result of their friendship”.

"There is a long-lasting friendship between the Prime Minister and the former President and they have helped each other in times of difficulties. The not signing of the no-confidence motion is yet another demonstration of this, the deputy minister said.

"Everybody who understands the politics of Sri Lanka knows that Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe are two good friends.

"As the leader of the UNP, when the Prime Minister was in a difficult situation, President Rajapaksa has therefore taken steps to save him," he added.

Sri Lanka Ministry of Health jointly with the Ministry of Education, has declared the week from today to April 9 as a National Dengue Prevention Week to launch island wide cleaning campaigns for mosquito eradication.

The Dengue Prevention Week aims to prevent breeding of mosquitoes which increases with the arrival of South West monsoon rains.

The Presidential Task Force together with the Ministries of Education and Health launch the National Dengue Control Week across the country, especially in schools before the new term begins after the holidays.

All Provincial and Zonal Directors of Education have been given instructions to implement the Dengue Prevention Week at schools.

The education officials are instructed to implement the mosquito eradication programs in schools while educating the school community and to implement programs in schools and offices that are not continuously following the dengue eradication programs. The have been instructed to ensure the school premises are clean before the schools resume after vacation.

Since the 1st January of this year, 14,000 suspected dengue cases have been reported from all over the island to the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry

Source : Colombo Page

Subjects and institutions coming under the purview of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was removed following his own advice, UNP MP Ajith P Perera said today.

"Subjects and institutions that is coming under the purview of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was removed following his own advice and it is a part of government's plan to go on a new journey," State Minister Perera said at a media briefing this morning

Source : Daily Mirror

Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera today met with the mothers of the disappeared and missing in Mullaitivu, who are staging a roadside protest opposite Mullaitivu District Secretariat for the past 390 days demanding to know the whereabouts of their missing children.

The mothers of the disappeared presented the facts about their missing children to the Minister and requested him to provide a quick solution.

The Minister assured them that officers from the Office on Missing persons (OMP) will be sent to meet them soon to learn about the disappearances and he personally will intervene to ensure that the mother will receive the information they seek on their loved ones.

Minister Samaraweera stressed that the activities of the OMP will not be interfered politically or militarily.

Source : Colombo Page

Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has expressed hope that incumbent Maithripala Sirisena - who was responsible for his ouster in 2015 - will support a no-confidence motion backed by the Joint Opposition against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The motion scheduled for April 4 was handed over to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya by the Joint Opposition last week against Wickremesinghe, accusing him of financial mismanagement and failing to tackle anti-Muslim riots early this month in the central Kandy district.

"It is now up to the President (Sirisena) to ensure the victory of the motion by getting his SLFP members to support it," Rajapaksa told reporters.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which is part of the unity government with Wickremesinghe is yet to decide on the way they will vote on the motion.

Wickremesinghe, 68, had resisted a call from Sirisena to resign following a crushing defeat to Rajapaksa's new party Sri Lanka People's Front in the February 10 local election.

It is no secret that Sirisena wants Wickremesinghe's ouster so that he could replace him with his own choice.

Wickremesinghe was recently replaced as law and order minister after clashes erupted in the Kandy district. Last week, the president also removed key institutions, including the Central Bank, from the control of Wickremesinghe.

Sirisena in 2015 quit the Rajapaksa government to join hands with Wickremesinghe, the then main opposition leader, to defeat Rajapaksa in the presidential election ending his 10-year rule.

Rajapaksa said if Wickremesinghe were to be defeated in the motion on April 4, the Joint Opposition would press Sirisena to dissolve parliament to hold a fresh election for parliament.

Constitutionally, the current parliament could not be dissolved before February 2020. It requires a motion adopted with 2/3rds in the 225 member assembly to call for snap elections.

Rajapaksa is constitutionally barred from contesting for the presidential election for a third time. However, he can become the prime minister.