10 July 2023 03:35 pm Views - 798
Claiming that President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Basil Rajapaksa are behind the Private Member's Bill moved by SLPP MP Jayantha Ketagoda proposing to reinstate former members of the expired Local Bodies, the National People’s Power (NPP) said today they would file a petition in the Supreme Court against the Bill.
Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala told a news conference that Basil Rajapaksa wanted to reinstate expired LG Bodies as he thinks SLPP’s power is in Local Bodies.
“It is true that SLPP held power in the majority of LG Bodies. The situation has changed now. They have lost people’s mandate now,” he said.
He said moves to reinstate LG Bodies were in violation of democratic principles, the Constitution and Local Authorities Elections Ordinance and added that they would file three petitions in the Supreme Court against the Bill.
“We will not allow this Bill to be enacted in parliament. We will file three petitions this Wednesday and defeat it in the Supreme Court,” he said.(Ajith Siriwardana)