Joint opposition programme is to be finalised within the coming days

 Members of opposition parties at the media briefing where they made an announcement on a planned joint programme. 

Pic by Nisal Baduge   

By Yohan Perera      

A joint programme of major opposition political parties will be finalised within the coming days and will be presented to party leaders for their approval, a number of parties announced yesterday.   

Former Minister Professor G. L. Peiris who made this announcement on behalf of the parties during media briefing said the opposition parties decided to come up with a joint programme as there was a dire need for it given the current situation in the country. “We saw this dire need for a common opposition programme and therefore decided to go ahead with it. The parties have come to the final stage of preparing this program. It will be ready within few days. This will be presented to party leaders for their approval thereafter,” he said.   

“Opposition parties will be engaged in the common programme while safeguarding their individual identities,” he added. Former President Ranil Wickremeisnghe who has pledged his support for the programme has sent a message to the parties in which he said he had always supported a joint effort of all political parties when such a need arose. “I am always ready to guide and support a joint opposition programme together with United National Party (UNP),” he said. The parties which are likely to be partners of the common programme are Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), United Republic Front, Podu Jana Eksath Peramuna, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) ally Tamil Progressive Front (TPA) and a number of civil organisations.   

TPA Leader Mano Gansesan said his party decided to participate in the programme as it was good to see a opposition parties getting together. “I had a discussion with the opposition leader Sajith Premadasa on a joint opposition effort and he informed me that his party would join as soon as the ongoing discussions with the UNP is completed,” he said.   

Former Minister and SLFP Chairman Nimal Siripala de Silva said all opposition political parties should forget individual objectives at this point of time. The opposition party leaders discussed the present situation in the country where they took the government to task on the fuel and gas price hike. SLPP Spokesman Sanjeewa Edirimanne said the government cannot come up with the Middle East issue as an excuse for the fuel prices hike as there were old stocks of fuel which have been purchased before the current global prices hike. “People are subjected to a burden in an unfair manner,” he said. United Republic Front Leader Patali Champika Ranwaka said the scam pertaining to inferior quality fuel is proven with the report which Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) had come up with. He said the country is in for a power crisis by mid this year as Lakvijeaya Power Plant will come to a standstill by August this year because of inferior quality coal.   

MP Dayasiri Jaysekera called for the removal of Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody should be removed from the post as per the Establishment Code and section 162 of Anti-Corruption ACT NO 9 of 2023. Even a Minister is considered as an official of the government and any such officer charged with corruption should be removed from the post as per this legislation,” he said.