• Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says no discussion at y’day’s Cabinet meeting
• SLPP to back only a ‘purpose driven, crisis resolution’ national Govt., not a ‘paint by numbers’ national Govt. as defined in the Constitution

No decision has been taken so far by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the formation of a national Government, The Daily Morning learned.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (17), Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said that even at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, there was no discussion regarding this matter. He said this when he was inquired about media reports claiming President Wickremesinghe has decided to invite other political parties to form a national Government in the future. 

“At the Cabinet meeting held today (17), there was no discussion regarding the creation of a national Government. Some media had reported that the President was going to invite all parties to come together to form a national Government after the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. But, the President didn’t even ask for the opinion of the Cabinet regarding this issue. That means that he has no idea of forming such a Government,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary, Parliamentarian and Attorney Sagara Kariyawasam told The Daily Morning yesterday that only if a national Government is formed with the aim of finding a solution to the current crisis prevailing in the country, will the SLPP support the formation of a national Government in the future. 

“I believe that a national Government should be formed for a national purpose. But, such a matter is not mentioned in the Constitution. It says that the Government created by several parties is a national Government. According to that definition, the incumbent Government is also a national Government. There are six SLPP Ministers in the current Government. There are two Ministers representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. There are two Ministers representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The only people who are not in this Government are those who represent the National People’s Power, etc. Therefore, this is also a national Government,” he claimed. However, he said that if the purpose of creating a national Government is clearly stated and a systematic discussion is held for it, the SLPP will unconditionally support in forming a national Government in the future.

Recently, the media had reported that President Wickremesinghe is expected to make a fresh call for all the Opposition parties to join hands to form an all party Government when the Parliament takes up the debate on the International Monetary Fund bailout programme soon.