No decision to appoint a Deputy PM – GL Peiris

Minister Professor G.L. Peiris says that the government has so far not taken a decision to appoint a Deputy Prime Minister.

He made this statement in response to a question from reporters regarding reports that former President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to be given the position of Deputy PM in the future.

Asked whether such a position can be created through the Constitution, he said that anything can be done when creating a new Constitution and that such a new position can also be created. “However, as of today the government has officially not taken such a decision.”

The Education Minister added that to his knowledge not even a discussion has taken place within the government thus far on the matter. “I cannot say what will happen later. But those can be considered when formulating a Constitution.”

During a press briefing of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) held in Colombo today, he also responded to questions regarding the SLPP’s stance on holding Provincial Council elections 

“If you have the 13th Amendment as an integral part of the Constitution then you have to hold elections. If you have it as an institution.”

However, it was the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), more than the Yahapalana government or the United National Party (UNP) or the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), that postponed the provincial council elections, he alleged.

He stated that the Attorney General made a clear ruling that that legislation that was brought before parliament requires a two-thirds majority. “It cannot be validly passed without a two-thirds majority,” he said, pointing out that the government of that day: the Yahapalana government did not have a two-thirds majority. 

“The Tamil National Alliance had 16 seats in parliament. They made a present of those 16 seats,” Prof. G.L. Peiris said. 

“So it is the TNA that deprived the people of the North and the East of the right to exercise their vote in order to elect persons of their choice for the Provincial Councils of the North and the East. Nobody else but the Tamil National Alliance. They did it.”

“That is because they saw themselves more than anything else as an adjunct of the UNP, to provide legal resources, political resources and every manner of support for the UNP.”

Now you have the reaction of the people of Jaffna, Vanni, Trincomalee and Batticaloa to that situation, he said referring to the results of the 2020 General Election. “More than 50% of the Tamil people voted against the TNA and that in his view one of the principal reasons for it is the stand they took with regard to depriving their people of the most cherished of all human rights and freedoms; the franchise, which is the fount of all democratic rights.” 

He stated that if you take away the suffrage of the people, no other democratic right has any validity or meaning. “The contribution of the TNA to the Tamil people was to take away the most sacred of their rights to elect the provincial councils,” the minister charged.

“And it is now ironical that they should go to the High Commission of India to undo what they themselves deliberately and calculatedly.”

Speaking about the 19th amendment to the Constitution, he said that it will be amended within this year and that if the government does not do that it will be a breach of the people’s trust.

“This is why the people gave us the two-thirds majority and we asked for it for a certain purpose.”

Peiris stated that if they show no interest to carry out that task in the four months before the end of the year, it will tarnish the people’s trust. “We will not allow that to happen. We will definitely do it within this year.”

Asked whether the entire mechanism of independent commissions will be scrapped through the constitutional amendment, he said that is still under consideration and being discussed as there are many opinions with regard to the matter.

“However, we will not maintain these so called commissions in this manner. They are not independent. They must be rejected with disgust,” he expressed.  

“Whether something else will be done to replace them is a different question. But I do not accept that even a single one of these commissions are independent. They were all established to imprison the Rajapaksas.”