{"id":35045,"date":"2014-11-18T15:47:17","date_gmt":"2014-11-18T20:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=35045"},"modified":"2014-11-18T21:54:55","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T02:54:55","slug":"jhu-gives-president-rajapaksa-birthday-presentby-resigning-minister-posts-and-refusing-to-support-mahindas-re-election-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=35045","title":{"rendered":"JHU Gives President Rajapaksa “Birthday Present” by Resigning Minister Posts and Refusing to Support Mahinda’s Re-Election Bid."},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Dharisha Bastians<\/strong><\/p>\n

Striking a heavy blow on President Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s 69th birthday yesterday, the JHU, a key constituent ally in the ruling UPFA Government, threw in the towel and refused to support his re-election bid.<\/p>\n

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Making a widely-anticipated announcement in Colombo yesterday, Jathika Hela Urumaya monks and laymen announced that the party would quit ministerial portfolios they hold in President Rajapaksa\u2019s Government and the Western Provincial Council.<\/p>\n

The Buddhist monk-led party said it was stepping out of roles of responsibility within the UPFA Government because the President had refused to agree to several key constitutional amendments ahead of a presidential election.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish President Rajapaksa a happy birthday, and we hope he accepts our announcement as a gift that aims to show the way, according to Buddhist principles and from a true friend,\u201d JHU Leader Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thero told a packed press conference at the National Library Auditorium last morning.
\nThe JHU had been engaged in wide discussions with the Government regarding important constitutional reforms including limiting the powers of the executive presidency and establishing the independence of the Judiciary, the party said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As of 18 November, the JHU will no longer hold ministerial portfolios within the Government or the provincial councils, JHU General Secretary Champika Ranawaka told journalists. \u201cI have submitted my resignation as Minister of Science and Technology to the President,\u201d Ranawaka announced.
\nJHU Deputy General Secretary Udaya Gammanpila, who also holds portfolios of Agriculture, Agrarian Development, Minor Irrigation, Industries, Environment, Culture and Art Affairs as a Minister in the UPFA-run Western Provincial Council, said he would submit his resignation to the Governor of the Western Province.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe JHU no longer shares collective responsibility for executive decisions made by this Government,\u201d Ranawaka asserted. \u201cWe can therefore struggle harder for reform and change,\u201d he said.
\nThe JHU also holds three seats in Parliament, but it was not immediately clear if the party would be withdrawing support to the Government alliance entirely. \u201cIf they do something good we may support it, but we will also be free to take a stand against things we don\u2019t agree with,\u201d Ranawaka explained.<\/p>\n

He said decisions about how the monk-led group would vote on the Third Reading of the Budget and on whether it would continue to sit with the Government in Parliament would be announced later.
\nJHU Chairman and MP Athuraliye Rathana Thero, who has been leading the push for constitutional reform and good governance, said the Party would not support President Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s bid for a third term in office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not his face or his name that we no longer support. It is his policies,\u201d Rathana Thero charged.
\nThe monk apologised for having to break the news on the President\u2019s birthday. \u201cBut we do it with good intentions, based on Buddhist principles,\u201d Rathana Thero said.<\/p>\n

Addressing the media briefing shortly before going in for surgery, Gammanpila quoted Albert Einstein who said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results was insanity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbolishing the presidential system was in the \u2018Mahinda Chinthana\u2019 in 2005. It was repeated in \u2018Mahinda Chinthana \u2013 Idiri Dakma\u2019 in 2010. Anyone who thinks it will be done because it is included in the 2015 manifesto will, as Einstein puts it, be insane,\u201d Gammanpila charged.<\/p>\n

Raising a battle cry, Rathana Thero invited all groups standing against the executive presidential system and corrupt governance to stand with the JHU.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have started. Now you can all join. Left or right, political or civil society, social groups and unions of all ideologies. We will only be safe if you join us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our humanitarian operation. We fought once to defeat terrorism. We thought when that ended, this Government would turn to good governance and reform questions,\u201d Ranawaka explained.<\/p>\n

The present Government was in the death grip of a corrupt mafia and white collar criminals, he charged. \u201cThe people are being held hostage to this corrupt mafia, we must fight to free them,\u201d Ranawaka claimed.
\nThe JHU General Secretary explained that the decision was not a sudden one. President Mahinda Rajapaksa had provided undertakings regarding constitutional reform when he signed an electoral pact with the JHU before the Sacred Temple of the Tooth in Kandy in 2005, the soon-to-be ex-Minister pointed out.
\nHe promised to bring about a presidency that was a trustee system, accountable to Parliament, Ranawaka explained.<\/p>\n

President Rajapaksa had reneged on these promises and discussions on these issues were revisited by the JHU as a UPFA constituent ally in light of speculation about snap presidential elections, Ranawaka noted.
\n\u201cWe were not satisfied by the response we received from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, about our reform proposals,\u201d he said, explaining that the SLFP had written to the JHU recently.
\nThere was no immediate response from the Government to the JHU announcement.<\/p>\n

JHU suffers first defection: Madumadawa sings a different song<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) member and popular singer Madumadawa Aravinda has resigned from the party and joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).<\/p>\n

Aravinda told reporters at a media briefing last evening that he had decided to resign as he did not agree with the JHU decision on the Government.<\/p>\n

He urged the JHU to reconsider the decision taken on its ties with the Government failing which he will gather the support of more JHU members to join the SLFP.<\/p>\n

Earlier yesterday JHU General Secretary Champika Ranawaka and JHU member Udaya Gamanpilla said they had resigned from their Government posts after the Government had failed to respond positively to a set of proposals on constitutional reforms.<\/p>\n

The JHU however said so far it has not decided on crossing over to the Opposition benches in Parliament and has also not decided on its stand to be taken during the final vote on the Budget or a common candidate. <\/p>\n

Courtesy:DailyFT<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dharisha Bastians Striking a heavy blow on President Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s 69th birthday yesterday, the JHU, a key constituent ally in the ruling UPFA Government, threw in the towel and refused to support his re-election bid. Making a widely-anticipated announcement in Colombo yesterday, Jathika Hela Urumaya monks and laymen announced that the party would quit …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘JHU Gives President Rajapaksa “Birthday Present” by Resigning Minister Posts and Refusing to Support Mahinda’s Re-Election Bid.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35045"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35045"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35066,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35045\/revisions\/35066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}