TNA supports Bill submitted by SJB MP

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) unanimously decided yesterday to support the draft 21st Amendment to the Constitution which was presented as a Private Member’s Bill by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara, TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran told the Daily News yesterday.

He said, “There is only one ‘21st Amendment’ and that’s the ‘one” which gets our party’s support.”

Parliament received copies of five petitions filed at the Supreme Court in respect of the Private Member’s Bill titled ‘Twenty First Amendment to the Constitution’ and copies of four petitions filed against the Private Member’s Bill titled ‘Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution’.

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had presented the latter. Sumanthiran maintained that the TNA stands with the former.

Lawyer and MP Sumanthiran also spoke out in support of the struggle of the Galle Face protestors to depose President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He said President Rajapaksa should listen to the protestors and leave.

He said this in response to a Daily News question about whether the Tamil National Alliance could stand with current Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on one foot and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on the other, given that he had declared the Tamil National Alliance and the Tamil people’s support for the Galle Face protestors in Colombo.

“We support and stand with them,” Sumanthiran stated.

The Daily News questioned him if he supported the Galle Face protestors and the 21st Amendment in order to remove Rajapaksa from power.

“If President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains in power, it will be counter to all democratic standards,” Sumanthiran responded. “This country’s Prime Minister has resigned from his position.”

“The Treasury Secretary, the Central Bank Governor, and many others who had prominent posts in his Cabinet resigned as a result of the current economic crisis. He had admitted to his failure. Now he must accept responsibility and resign as President so that his actions will not be contrary to democratic principles,” Sumanthiran said.

When asked if the TNA had contributed to Sri Lanka’s current struggle for dollars with the help of the Tamil Diaspora, as it had recently suggested, MP Sumanthiran said they would, but it would depend on how the Tamil national question was addressed.