JVP to boycott meeting of former MPs

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has informed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a letter written by leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake that its members would not attend the meeting of former MPs convened by him at Temple Trees on May 4 to discuss the current situation in the country.

He said in the letter that it was not a constructive move to convene a meeting of the 225 former MPs to Temple Trees instead of convening parliament which has constitutional powers to seek views and suggestions on overcoming the current situation and combating the corona epidemic.

“We also stress that in a situation where no action has been taken to form a common mechanism to face this epidemic as proposed by us and several other parties, it is pointless to convene a meeting of former MPs,” he said.

“On the other hand, we see that it is best to arrange a meeting with all political party leaders headed by the President and the Prime Minister if it is to discuss how best to face the corona epidemic and provide relief to the effected people.”

Mr. Dissanayke said there has been a talk of a constitutional crisis due to not being able to convene the new parliament within three months of dissolving parliament and also about the President having no powers to spend State funds after April 30. He said if the meeting was convened to discuss this issue, such a meeting would not provide any solution to a constitutional crisis.    

He said it was best for the President to reconvene parliament under the Constitution in an emergency or seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on Constitutional measures to be take in a situation such as this.

Mr. Dissanayake said former JVP MPs would not attend the meeting as they deemed it would be of no use to educate the MPs about a constitutional crisis created by the government itself without acting according to the Constitution. (Ajith Siriwardana and Thisari Walawege)