"19th amendment crippled the constitution" - Mohammed Muzzamil

Colombo (News 1st): The controversial parliamentary special committee was chaired by Dr Jayampathy Wickremeratne. He is also the same person who headed the drafting of the 19th amendment to the constitution which gave rise to many ambiguities and issues in the country. Opposition parties and civil societies responded to the statements made by Dr Wickremeratnne admitting that the 19th amendment is problematic. Media spokesperson of the National Freedom Front Mohammed Muzzamil said the 19th amendment to the constitution that Dr Jayampathi Wickremeratne speaks about is the amendment that crippled the functioning of the constitution of the country. He added that no person in the country can make a definite decision and today with the rift between the president and the prime minister there are two governments in the country. Muzzamil noted that the main reason for the existence of two governments as such is the 19th constitutional amendment, therefore, through this 19th constitutional amendment the entire country has been destroyed, the country has been left desolate. He said they believe that people like Jayampathi WIckremeratne cannot speak about the 19th constitutional amendment with his dignity intact. UPFA MP Shehan Semasinghe noted that Jayampathi Wickremeratne who drafted the 19th constitutional amendment says there are certain incompatibilities 5 years later. He noted that Jayampathi Wickremeratne in a similar manner leads an effort by the government to draft a new constitution for the country. Semasinghe added that the draft of this constitution was presented to parliament and it is evident that it too does not suit this country. He went onto note the group including Jayampathi Wickremeratne are not people who live with their feet on the ground. He said they saw him (Jayampathi) convening a media briefing to speak of some important matters but he ended up speaking about how they are meeting up in the evening to consume alcohol. Parapuraka Balaya Organization's Convenor Chamara Nakandala said when this has caused so much destruction in the country, making these statements to the public is pointless. He noted that they understand Ranil Wickremesinghe's agenda as well and he knows that as he can never win an election and come into power he made an attempt to come through a different route, a short cut and create a position of executive prime minister. He requested Jayampathi Wickremeratne to draft a constitution that gives power to the general public and not to Ranil Wickremesinghe.