Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:26

By Yohan Perera

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said he did not agree to the proposed 18th Amendment to the constitution at any time during the bi partisan talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Addressing a joint meeting of several opposition political parties and organizations against the proposed Constitution Amendments at Jayewardene Centre yesterday, Mr. Wickremesinghe said he and the UNP delegation clearly informed President Rajapaksa that his party was against any move to retain the executive presidency during talks.

He recalled that the UNP had adopted a resolution to abolish the executive presidency at the party convention in November 2009 and had never changed that stand. However he said UNP would have supported the government if it brought people friendly constitutional reforms to reduce the powers of the Executive Presidency.

Mr Wickremesinghe explained that the undemocratic nature of the Constitutional reforms should be explained to the rural people as well without delay.

Democtatic People’s Front Leader Mano Ganesan called on the TNA to vote against the reforms stating that the Tamil speaking people were already lost their democratic rights in the North. Citing an example he said the students of Jaffna University have become helpless as they are unable to obtain the essential infrastructure facilities in the university.