Country will have to face repercussions of 20A before long: JVP

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday urged the government and opposition MPs to come forward to defeat the 20th Amendment to the Constitution claiming that the country would have to face repercussions of the 20A before long.

JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath told a news conference that Ministers have been helpless in the Cabinet before the President where they have been forced to approve the 20A without any time to study it.

“It seems that there is an issue within the government on the 20A. That is why, committees are appointed to study it. Appointing committees to study the 20A which was approved by the Cabinet clearly shows the rift in the government on the matter. Ministers in the Cabinet had approved it without studying it. They have done so due to fear of the President. This is not democracy. If there was democracy, ministers would not have been forced to approve it on the same day when the 20A was presented. The normal practice is to allow ministers to study a Cabinet paper for a week. In this case, they were forced to approve it on the same day,” he said.

He said not a single minister had the courage to speak on the report of the Review Committee on 20A during Wednesdays’ Cabinet meeting.

“No minister has offered to talk about the 20A at the Cabinet meeting after receiving the report of the Review Committee on 20A. The ministers have been helpless just like belling the cat. The fate of the country was clear from the fate of the Cabinet today. The ministers have become effigies,” said.

MP Herath said even though the government was claiming that amendments to the 20th Amendment to the Constitution would be introduced during the committee stage, no one, not even the government MPs were aware of the said amendments.

He said the JVP was organizing seminars to educate people on the repercussions of the 20A and added that they would vote against it in Parliament. (Ajith Siriwardana)