Policy Statement of President approved

22 August 2020 12:06 am

• No strong objections were raised by the opposition on the economic policy outlined by the President

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana  

Parliament yesterday unanimously adopted the policy statement of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa which outlined the way forward for the country.   

At the end of the debate on the statement, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene put the question to the House whether it agreed with the statement and apparently no one called for a vote. Speaker then announced that the statement had been adopted by the House.  During the course of the debate, some opposition MPs raised objection to the idea of a new Constitution based on a ‘One Country, One Law’ concept. The objections came particularly from the minority parties especially with regard to the concept outlined by the President to formulate a new Constitution based on the principle of one country and one law. No strong objections were raised by the opposition on the economic policy outlined by the President.   

Minister of Labour Nimal Siripala de Silva wound up the debate by calling for the abolition of 19th Amendment.