"No Cabinet Minister in the consensus government has a moral right to oppose the Local Government Institutions Amendment Draft Bill tabled in Parliament," Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapha said.
He was addressing a press conference held on Saturday night after the draft bill was adopted in Parliament.
The bill was adopted in Parliament with 138 members voting for, 49 against and eight abstaining.
Minister Musthapha said politics with a communal face should be halted forthwith. "It was not morally correct on the part of a politician to behave in a manner that would create wrong attitudes among the people during our forward march as Sri Lankans by saying that they are working on behalf of their own community," Minister Musthapha said.
"We tabled a draft bill concerning women representation. No Cabinet member has a moral right to oppose the amendments brought before the Select Committee.
The reason is that the President and the Prime Minister appointed a Cabinet Sub Committee headed by me comprising Ministers Rauff Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen, Mano Ganeshan, Mahinda Amaraweera, and Duminda Disssanayke as its members," he said.
"I regretted the opposition going against the Bill in Parliament without attending the Cabinet Sub Committee meeting. A member of a Cabinet Sub Committee was bound by a decision made by the Committee whether he or she participated in its deliberations," the Minister said.
"All members of the Cabient were made aware of the policy decisions of the government regarding multi-member constituencies.
"Therefore, no minister can oppose that process. The party which received the highest number of votes in multi-member seat is entitled to get the first member while the party receiving the second highest is entitled to the second member. The SLFP too opposed the granting of all the wards to the party which won a multi-member seat. But being in a consensus government, they had agree to some sort of consensus," the Minister said.
"One cannot do everything he wants all the time while being in a consensus government. We should put a full stop to communal politics.
I am against parties named after communities. I believe that I am a Sri Lankan. People should reject politicians who engage in political deceit. All should stand firmly together if they are in the government," the Minister said.
Add new comment