Majority support certain for Constitutional Amendments

by L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

Over 164 MPs including 10 from the UNP, will support the Constitutional Amendments to be presented in Parliament this week, informed sources said.

Four UNP MPs namely Lakshman Seneviratne, Earl Gunasekera, Manusha Nanayakkara and Abdul Cader announced last week that they would support the Constitutional Amendments.

Political analysts believe that Puttalam District UNP MP Ranga Bandara, Kandy District UNP MP M. Haleem and Nuwara Eliya UNP MP Sri Ranga will also announce their support to the Government’s Constitutional Amendments. Eight Sri Lanka Muslim Congress MPs including its leader Rauff Hakeem last week announced their support for the proposed Constitutional Amendments. Prabha Ganeshan and P. Digambaran also joined the Government ranks recently. The Government is in a stable position to muster the support of a total of 158 MPs which is over and above the required two-third necessary to give effect to the proposed Constitutional Amendments.

Another group of UNP MPs from Puttalam, Galle, Gampaha and Kandy district are expected to announce their support to the Government.

Meanwhile JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe and General Secretary Tilvin Silva severely criticised the lethargy on the part of the UNP and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe towards the proposed Constitutional reforms.