22A needs to be approved by referendum costing Rs. 10 billion: Anura Kumara

Colombo, July 21 (Daily Mirror)- Claiming that the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution is required to be passed by a referendum which costs Rs. 10 billion, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today President Ranil Wickremesinghe is plotting to bring in such an amendment at this juncture to create confusion among the people.

Speaking at a public meeting with Sri Lankans in Tsukuba, Japan, he said the 22nd Amendment is brought into amend Article 83 of the Constitution which deals with the tenure of the President and added that the Supreme Court has already given its observations that the President's term is five years.

"The 22nd Amendment needs to be approved by a referendum. It costs Rs. 10 billion. The President is even ready to spend Rs. 10 billion to create confusion among the people. However, the process of the 22nd Amendment will take several weeks and by then Ranil Wickremesinghe would have gone home after being defeated at the election," he said.

Dissanayake said even though Ranil Wickremesinghe is trying to create quandary and confusion among the people, it is very clear that Ranil is in a quandary whether he will get a chance to contest.

"Ranil is still in a quandary whether he will get a chance to contest. From which party, symbol is he going to contest? Just because he is in a quandary, he is trying to create confusion among the people about the election," he said.

Refuting allegations that Rs.70 million had been spent for his foreign visits, Dissanayake said he will reveal all his expenses for foreign trips soon and challenged the President, Minister Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara to reveal the expenses for their foreign trips as well.

"We have not spent any public funds for foreign trips," he said.