Don’t hold country to ransom over a personal vendetta

President Maithripala Sirisena addressing the SLFP convention on December 4 publicly announced that he would not re-appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister even if 225 MPS called for such an appointment.

This public announcement made it obvious that the dismissal of the PM and the Cabinet on October 26 was based on personal differences with Mr. Wickremesinghe and not on any legal or valid grounds.

The sequence of events triggered by this legally unsubstantiated action by the President, the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister and a new Cabinet, the prorogation of parliament and the dissolution of the government have plunged the country into an anarchic state.

Are we to believe that the series of actions taken by the President was mainly to bolster his sagging popularity as the leader of the SLFP and position himself as a candidate at the next presidential election, at the expense of the country? It is clear that the modus operandi behind the October 26 revolution was to divide the UNP by undermining the leadership of Mr. Wickremesinghe and trick Mr. Rajapaksa into forming a government, which would eventually fail with a price to pay at the next general elections and finally force a general election before the presidential election in favour of the President as a candidate.

Given the prevailing anarchic state of affairs in the country, the need of the hour is to uphold the Constitution, reverse the despotic action taken against the Constitution and prepare the country for a presidential election.

RIENZIE NANAYAKKARA

KANDY

The October 26 revolution was meant to divide the UNP by undermining Mr. Wickremesinghe’s leadership