Prez pledges to resolve minority issues Opposition minority parties at ceremonial opening of Parliament

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana  

The presence of all minority parties for the ceremonial opening of Parliament was a special feature yesterday while the walking away of the Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya was also a notable feature. TNA MPs including M.A. Sumanthiran, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) led by Mano Ganesan, Tamil People’s National Alliance Leader C.V. Vigneswaran were present to listen to the President’s policy statement while some members of SLMC were also present. President Wickremesinghe emphasized on the devolution powers under the 1st amendment, while giving an assurance that issues faced by the estate Tamil community and the Muslims would be addressed thus indicating that there would have been a correlation between his remarks and the presence of minority party members.  

SLMC and TPA who are allies of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Members of Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya made a noisy exit as they shouted “ Throne Speech mania” while they walked out. The members in the government benches reacted with jeering.