brand logo

Mixed reactions to new Cabinet 

18 Apr 2022

BY Buddhika Samaraweera Several parties have made both positive and negative comments regarding the new Cabinet of Ministers appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday (18). Speaking to the media yesterday, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara – who was elected to Parliament under the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) alliance, but whose party recently decided to sit independently in Parliament – claimed that the people would not accept the newly appointed Cabinet, adding that the President should instead form an interim Government in which all political parties are represented.  He said: “This is the same set that has been reassembled. Therefore, I do not think that the people will accept this Cabinet. The people told all the MPs to go home as they rejected all of us. Thus, they will not accept a solution of this sort."  Jayasekara also said that the SLFP had repeatedly called on the President to form an Interim Government that would represent all political parties, such as the SLPP, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) that currently functions as the main Parliamentary Opposition, the National People's Power, and the United National Party.  “We have asked the President to form an Interim Government, which means to form a Government for a specified time frame, with the participation of all the parties represented in the Parliament. Through that, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution and other necessary legal reforms can be passed. If an election can be held one year after the appointment of such a Government, it will instil some confidence in the people,” he added. Meanwhile, Democratic Left Front Leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara, who was elected under the SLPP, and who recently decided to sit independently in the Parliament, told the media that there would be some progress in the new Cabinet appointed by the President. He also said that certain MPs, especially those who had held Ministerial posts, had not been given Ministerial posts this time and that there is some new hope, as some MPs have been appointed as Cabinet Ministers for the first time. He noted, however, that the prime solution to the crisis was to form an all-party Government. Furthermore, commenting on the new Cabinet, MP Nimal Lanza, who was elected to Parliament uncer the SLPP, but also decided to sit independently in Parliament, said: “With the powers vested in the President, he has the power to appoint a Cabinet, but now the people and we are calling for the formation of an all-party Government. Also, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa should resign and someone should be appointed to the post of the Premier through the formation of an all-party Government.” SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, commenting on the new Cabinet, stated that the game that one team could not play could not be played by another group either.  “There was ‘Team A’ that could not play the game. Now ‘Team B’ is going to be appointed to play the same game. It is not something that is practical. ‘Team B’ too cannot play the game,” he said. A total of 17 new Cabinet Ministers were sworn in before President Rajapaksa yesterday, amid continuous public protests demanding the resignation of the President, the Premier and the incumbent SLPP-led Government.


More News..