“I am the Prime Minister” – Ranil Wickremesinghe
Posted on October 26th, 2018
Courtesy Adaderana
Ranil Wickremesinghe says that he is still the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and will continue to function in that capacity as he has a majority in the Parliament.
The leader of the United National Party (UNP) addressed the media in Colombo, a few hours after former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as Prime Minister before President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat.
I am addressing you as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. I am the Prime Minister under Article 42 of the Constitution in accordance with the 19th Amendment,” he said.
There was a motion of no confidence against me in Parliament which was defeated. A majority voted against it showing that they had confidence in me. That situation has not changed.”
Since I have a majority I remain as the Prime Minister and I will function as the Prime Minister,” Wickremesinghe asserted.
He stated that they still have the power of the government, but he will discuss the situation with the other parties. I have the majority. If we can defeat a no-confidence motion that means we have the majority. I showed a majority at that moment.”
Responding to a question regarding the unexpected turn of events, he said: In politics you have to be ready for anything.”
Asked whether he trusts the backbencher MPs of the UNP, the party leader said he does.
The national government has two parties and its future will be decided in the Parliament. Only the Parliament can do it. No one else. All these problems can be decided in the parliament,” he stressed.
He also said that the Cabinet of Ministers will remain the same. I have not removed anyone. I still not have been notified whether some have resigned. When they do inform we will decide on that.”
This problem needs to be resolved in the parliament,” he reiterated.
October 26th, 2018 at 5:31 pm
Like HELL you are PM!
GO AWAY, Get Lost! Sri Lanka NEVER HAD a more UNPATRIOTIC PM than you! Shame on You!
BUGGER OFF! VAMOOSE, Ranil Ali-Baba Wikunanasinghe with your 40-Thieves!
October 26th, 2018 at 5:33 pm
Ranil-Baba’s CABINET will be DISSOLVED & REPLACED soon!
October 26th, 2018 at 5:39 pm
Ranil’s terms as PM. First one and half years, then two and a half years and three and a half years. They always end well before their term.
But Rajapaksa camp celebrations will be short lived. UNP will replace Ranil with Sajith and he will be a formidable contestant at the 2019 presidential election. Haste makes waste.
October 26th, 2018 at 5:56 pm
I am not overjoyed like others.
I am not bothered about who is the PM or who is the Prez.
I am even more worried now we have become India’s next state.
It was India who injected 13A poison.
It was India who installed Ranil for CFA.
It was India who removed him and brought Mahinda instead.
It was India who removed Mahinda to teach final lesson.
It is India now bring the rehabilitated back removing Ranil.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:12 pm
Ranil is one side of the disaster our country facing. No man in the world behave unashamedly than him and still going on.
When he was appointed PM when the legitimate government of MR was still in power, no one , including Mahinda protested. Even the cabinet did not turn up at the parliament.
Now, Ranil and his cabinet kicked out by Sirisena and he is saying it is illegal. how about in 2015 then ? SLFP had 2/3 majority then and still PM was removed and Ranil appointed.
What a mental case he is ?
October 26th, 2018 at 9:33 pm
Rajapaksa’s return to power in Sri Lanka a worry for India
Oct 27 (TOI) NEW DELHI- The return of Mahinda Rajapaksa to power in Sri Lanka has been the subject of speculation for some time. The question was when and how. In 2015, India lent its influence to broker a coalition between Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe to remove Rajapaksa from office.
This came after Rajapaksa had given China strategic entry into Sri Lanka, by leasing out Hambantota port to them, allowing them to build Colombo port, allowing China to dock its submarines in Sri Lanka and generally allowing Sri Lanka to become a poster child for China’s famed “debt trap diplomacy”.
In the past three months as trouble grew within Sri Lanka’s ruling alliance, all three major players have stopped by Delhi to lobby for Indian support. The latest was Ranil Wickremesinghe who arrived to meet Modi last week, days after Sirisena had dramatically accused RAW of trying to assassinate him.
Sirisena himself met Modi for a long chat on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Nepal. In September, Rajapaksa himself came to India on an invitation by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, who, on Friday, just stopped short of claiming credit for Rajapaksa’s return. Rajapaksa’s meeting with Modi was not his first after losing power though. During both his visits to Sri Lanka, Modi has made time for Rajapaksa, which was surprising given how he turned Sri Lanka into a Chinese asset. But even before his recent visit, Rajapaksa sent G L Peiris, former foreign minister and currently spokesperson for his new political outfit, to India to mend ties.
India has reason to worry about Rajapaksa’s return and China has reason to feel a sense of anticipation. Rajapaksa’s tenure saw China taking a big chunk of South Asia from India’s sphere of influence.
The old anti-India rhetoric has made its way back into Sri Lankan discourse recently. Last week, Mahinda Samarasinghe, ports minister declared they would not hand over Eastern Container Terminal (ECT) to India, in contravention of a 2017 agreement. India is also scheduled to get other important projects like the Trincomalee oil tank farms, Palaly airport in Jaffna, Mattala airport in Hambantota and LNG terminal in Kerawalapitiya outside Colombo. In a rare victory, Indian companies wrested back a housing project in the north from a Chinese private sector entity.
While Sirisena even recently declared he would not hand over Lankan assets to “outsiders”, he has been responsible to allowing China to take a 99-year lease on Hambantota, taking Rajapaksa’s initiative to the new level.
India has strong security interests in Sri Lanka and the Modi government would be loath to see a greater Chinese presence in the island nation, particularly given the difficulties posed by Maldives and its own China-leaning outgoing
October 26th, 2018 at 9:39 pm
Very timely demand from Athuraliye Rathana Thero; did he know what was in the offing?
……………………
Dissolve Cabinet, form caretaker govt.: Rathana Thera
Daily Mirror, 2018-10-26
President Maithripala Sirisena should immediately dissolve the Cabinet and establish a caretaker government with the support of all political parties, Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera yesterday said.
He said the country was going through a rough patch and there were agitations taking place, mainly in response to the alleged plot to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“No one is taking this issue seriously. But I think everyone should. Even though I have my reservations about the President, at a moment like this we should all come together to protect him. If a foreign country or government is trying to assassinate him, it is the responsibility of the authorities to conduct a proper probe,” he told a news conference.
Commenting on the reports of Cabinet Ministers having affiliations with RAW and the roles played by former TID DIG Nalaka Silva and the IGP in the alleged assassination plot, the thera said these issues raise many questions.
“Why is India trying to kill the President? Once he is no more, who will become the President. According to the Constitution, the Premier will become the President. Does India want to make the Prime Minister the President or want to kill him as well? These are serious issues. It doesn’t matter if its India or China. If any faction wants to harm our sovereignty, everyone should join together to prevent it from happening,” the thera said.
The thera said Sri Lanka is on the verge of becoming an unstable country with assassination plots and alienation of national assets in order to satisfy world powerhouses.
“Just because we leased out Hambantota Port to China, it doesn’t mean we should give India another asset. We should try to get back the Hambantota Port. I think all ministers and officials of this government should resign and go for an interim caretaker government until the next election is held. The President has the power to call for one according to the Constitution,” he said.
The thera said he would meet all political leaders including the President, the Premier, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the JVP to discuss the formation of an interim government in the next few days. (Lahiru Pothmulla)