Cabinet of Ministers should be restricted to 30 - Min. Harsha de Silva

Colombo (News1st) - Non-Cabinet Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Dr. Harsha de Silva inspected few development projects that are being carried out in Kotte today (Dec 22) and interacted with members of the media that were present. Journalists questioned whether ministerial positions were given to certain persons in order to make them happy or stop them from crossing over. Responding to the question Min. Harsha de Silva stated that he is of the firm view that the cabinet of Ministers should be restricted to 30, he stated that he had made this assertion both inside the party as well as in Parliament. The Minister further noted that if anyone wants to join the Government and obtain a cabinet seat, someone already in the cabinet should step down. He stated that he was happy to have received a ministerial position for the first time in life and explained that the main difference between a cabinet and non-cabinet minister is that a non-cabinet minister does not have to attend the cabinet meeting unless he/she is submitting a cabinet paper. When questioned about rumors that the President rejected some of the names sent to him to be appointed as Ministers, Harsha de Silva evaded the question by stating that he does not knwo about it and that when he took oaths the president granted his blessings to do a good job.