Young SLFP legislators pledge support to Nimal Siripala

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Several youth parliamentarians from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP) have pledged support to incumbent Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva, claiming they have faith in his ability to play the vital role.

SLFP Youth Front President and Deputy Media Minister Shantha Bandara

SLFP Youth Front President and Deputy Media Minister Shantha Bandara said, constituent partners of the United Peoples' Freedom Alliance(UPFA) had no moral right to question the suitability of the incumbent, simply because 26 UPFA legislators have now become members of the expanded Cabinet.Shantha Bandara said that at the time of appointing Nimal Siripala de Silva, already there was a group of SLFP parliamentarians holding ministerial portfolios. " But they chose not to field the same argument at that time."

Bandara said, even today, the majority in the Opposition is represented by the SLFP-led UPFA coalition members.

"UPFA parliamentarian Nimal Siripala de Silva was appointed as the Opposition Leader based on consensus of all UPFA MPs. There is no way that he could now be replaced only because some people wish to be politically destructive.

This amounts to a serious breach of party discipline," the Deputy Minister said.

He also said, this was also the ideal opportunity to prune the powers of the Executive Presidency, using the expressed consent of the incumbent president to curtail executive powers.

"Pruning the powers of the Executive and electoral reforms should be done simultaneously.

If these powers are reduced sans corresponding electoral reforms, it would lead to a crisis situation," he said. The Deputy Minister added that when the 19th Amendment is fully implemented, the composition of Parliament will have to undergo some change. “We are not pressuring the Government to do reduce executive powers and to introduce electoral reforms in a day. Both these requirements should be fulfilled simultaneously as they are interconnected," he said.

“We have requested the party hierarchy to increase the youth representation in Parliament and provide more opportunities fir young persons to contest the general election.

This focus should be there at district level.

We hope the SLFP will ensure clean young persons get an opportunity to enter the fray,” he said.

The 1978 Constitution has clearly set out the provisions which disqualify a person from being a candidate. This also should be treated as an opportunity to introduce fresh faces and weed out corrupt elements that have brought disrepute to the party, he noted.