10 June 2022 08:50 am Views - 424
Former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa who resigned from his parliamentary seat yesterday said he was against the enactment of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution pruning presidential powers to be vested with a Prime Minister who could not even get elected.
Addressing a packed, live press conference after tendering his letter of resignation to the Secretary-General of Parliament, Mr. Rajapaksa said he was not, however, against the empowerment of Parliament to strengthen the independent commissions. However, he said the enactment of constitutional changes should be done in conformity with people’s mandate. “I am against the constitutional amendments which reduce the presidential powers. The president was elected with a mandate of 6.9 million votes,” he said. Asked whether he took such a position because the proposed amendment seeks to bar dual citizens from holding office, Mr. Rajapaksa, a dual passport holder of Sri Lanka and the United States, said he resigned from Parliament to make way for the advocates of the 21st Amendment under the new government. Prodded by the media personnel for his opinion on the barrier for dual citizens in the proposed amendment, he avoided a direct answer. He only said all Sri Lankans domiciled abroad should be given dual citizenship.
“All over the world, there are dual citizens holding key leadership positions,” he said. Asked about his future, he said he believes in the difference between governance and politics. “I will do politics, but not parliamentary politics,” he said. He said the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) would not shy away from elections. Responding to a question as to whether he had been engaged in passing ball, the MP said he had not..I dont have a ball to pass,” he said.