The Independent Commissions set up by the previous Good Governance Government were never independent, said Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Kalutara district Parliamentarian Mahinda Samarasinghe in Parliament yesterday.
He said he made this statement as a representative of the then Constitutional Council and the same fact was obvious as it consisted of Civil Society activists.
He added that even the appointment of the then Inspector General Police (IGP) provides clear evidence to that effect.
He made these observations in response to MP Kiriella who said that they set up Independent Commissions under their tenure and their independent feature faded away with the passage of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
MP Samarasinghe was on his feet joining the Committee Stage debate on the Appropriation Bill for the financial year 2021.
MP Samarasinghe said that the Presidential election was held during a period when the security of the country was at stake. He added that the people elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as they believed that he would save the country as he did as the Defence Secretary under then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“MP Kiriella said that we have to build up international relations,” MP Samarasinghe said. “But the UNP had to betray the War Heroes by way of supporting a resolution at Geneva against our own War Heroes in order to maintain international relations. But this Government under the leadership of Gotabaya Rajapaksa got the country out of that trap after the approval of the Cabinet.”
He said however the Government would build strong relations without betraying the country.
