"There is an agreement between UNF and SLMC" - Lakshman Kiriella

Colombo (News1st): Speaking in Parliament today (December 21) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made comments on reports surrounding the new Cabinet of Ministers. He said he is saddened to note that the newspaper has reported on who is in and who's not in the cabinet. The premier noted that he will be making a statement following the appointment of all the cabinet and non-cabinet ministers because the cabinet is accountable to the parliament. He added that they are discussing with the President on the ones who were not appointed to the cabinet. He noted that he was surprised to see some of the names which he didn't send, like MP Wijithamuni Zoysa's name being mentioned in reports. Meanwhile, the leader of the JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said it was Ranil Wickremesinghe who created the background for a political conspiracy. He went onto state that Wickremesinghe is searching for loopholes in the constitution just like President Maithripala Sirisena. He questioned the leader of the house on how many names were sent to the President to be sworn in as Cabinet Ministers. The leader of the house noted that a list of 35 names were sent to the President, Anura Kumara then questioned as to how the UNF sent such a list when the constitution restricts the number of Cabinet Ministers to 30. While noting that the Courts have made rulings on the protection of the constitution, the JVP leader questioned how someone like Ranil Wickremesinghe violates the constitution, merely days after a 50-day constitutional crisis. He added that at present both the president and the prime minister have violated the constitution. UNP MP Harsha de Silva believes that the country should be ruled by a national Government once again but that the cabinet of ministers should be restricted to 30 members inline with the wishes of the people. He stated that if anyone from the opposition wants to join the ruling party, they should do so keeping this in mind.