Convener for The Movement for A Just Society Maduluwawe Sobitha thera said that according to the current constitution it prevents the people from overthrowing the President from his authority even if he goes ‘insane’.
Speaking at the “Pivithuru Hetak” program Sobitha thera said that the new constitution implemented under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been ‘a marvel since its origin’. Sobitha thera pointed out that the ‘marvel’ of it prevents from taking the issue to court and holds no one liable.
“Nowhere else in world we have seen a marvel such as the current constitution of Sri Lanka where one can be in power beyond bounds”, Sobitha thera said.
Sobitha thera remarked that even though former President Chandrika Bandaranaike promised to abolish the executive presidency, but she too did not do anything in that direction after assuming office. The Thera also asserted that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had the best chance to abolish the ‘tainted’ constitution but instead he made it permanent.
“We do not need a presidential election now, what we need is the corruption, the disloyalties, to stop. The person who rallied masses against executive presidency has now implemented an 18th amendment and renewed the constitution while discarding the 17th amendment as a ‘dead body’” Sobitha thera said.
Sobitha thera maintained that when the 17th Amendment got deactivated, every aspect of governance became politicized and with that the quality of Foreign Service too declined.
“The political-minded agendas of certain people have put the country in a place where the country is subjected to humiliation in front of the international community”, he said.
Sobitha thera continued on to criticize the constitution by saying that former President J R Jayawardena brought on a curse to the country in the guise of an executive presidency and that Sri Lanka is still suffering from its recoil.
