The United National Party (UNP) today rubbished the argument proffered by ex-chief justice Sarath N. Silva and other UPFA members that under the 19th Amendment, the President did not have the authority to appoint a prime minister.

He said on Friday that the President had no say in selecting a prime minister other than appointing as PM a member who commanded the majority support in parliament.

UNP Colombo District Candidate and Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe told a media briefing that under 19A the President had the authority to appoint anyone whom he thought would be able to win the confidence of a majority of members in parliament.

He said the ex-CJ was double-talking and behaving in a duplicitous manner.

The minister hit back at the ex-CJ that during the presidential election he came out with an entirely different opinion when on several occasions he very clearly stated that the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa had to be thrown out of power. The minister also recalled that the ex-CJ Silva had tendered a public apology for having given an incorrect judgement in the 'Helping Hambantota Case' in which the ex-president was charged with committing a financial fraud.

The minister said that similarly all the other judgments given by Sarath N. Silva during his tenure as chief justice were questionable when considering the apology he made on the 'Helping Hambantota' scam. (Yohan Perera and Dayana Udayangani)