Proposals by MR’S APRC also welcome-ranil

THE ALLEGATION THAT THE GOVT. HAD COME UP WITH A DRAFT OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION IS FALSE

Proposals made by the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) appointed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on police powers can also be considered along with other proposals when compiling a new Constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

The Prime Minister said this during the national Thai Pongal Programme organised by the Ministry of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs at Temple Trees yesterday evening.

“What the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly presented was proposals submitted by the experts’ committee, the Chief Ministers along with sentiments expressed by MPS on the said proposals and a report on a debate that took place in the constitutional assembly previously,” the Prime Minister said.

“The allegation that the government had come up with a draft of the new constitution and that police powers are going to be delegated to the provincial councils is false. Of course some UPFA Chief Ministers have called for the devolving of police powers to provincial councils. We can discuss all these matters and decide on what is good or bad. We can actually consider any proposal. It is possible even to consider the proposals that have been made by the APRC that was appointed by former President Rajapaksa during the time his regime was in power,” he added.

He said it is sad to note that some try to provoke communal hatred by going into the temples and deceiving the monks.“i pity these people. As Buddhists we are called to refrain from telling lies. It is one component of Panchaseela preached by the Buddha. If a person tells a lie he will be going against the teachings of the Panchaseela and that person will have to suffer the consequences of it during his next birth. This is why I pity them,” he said in this regard.

The Prime Minister promised to release more land held by the security forces to their rightful owners and said the government will launch a programme to develop the infrastructure in the North soon.

Minister of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Empowerment and Hindu Religious Affairs Mano Ganesan said he will initiate a dialogue among the Hindu and Buddhist leaders shortly.“hindus and Buddhists enjoy a close friendship. Hindus venerate the Buddha in addition to their pantheon of Gods while there are Devalas in almost all Buddhist Temples. Devalas are where Buddhists worship Hindu Gods such as Vishnu, Ganesh and Durga. Therefore it is easy to develop ties between the Buddhists and Hindus,” the Minister said.