The UNP leadership has decided to ask president Maithripala Sirisena to remove Wijedasa Rajapakshe as the justice and Buddha Sasana minister, say government sources.
Rajapakshe faces many accusations, including the violation of the cabinet’s collective responsibility by criticizing the Hambantota port decision, the Attorney General’s Department under him delaying court cases against the Rajapaksas and getting senior lawyer of the Department Dapppula de Livera to inconvenience senior government figure Ravi Karunanayake.
Also, he is under fire over having insulted a UN official who had been on a visit to the country.
Wijedasa blamed for Ravi’s resignation
After Karunanayake resigned from his ministry yesterday (10), Rajitha Senaratne and Sujeewa Senasinghe went to the PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office at the parliamentary complex and blamed Wijedasa Rajapakshe for the resignation.
Joining them, MPs Harshana Rajakaruna, Hector Appuhamy, Asoka Priyantha, Shantha Abeysekara, Chandipa Samarasinghe, Chaminda Wijesinghe, Kavinda Jayawardena and Thusitha Jayamanne strongly criticized the justice minister and requested for his removal.
Senaratne said he would give leadership to the struggle for Rajapakshe’s removal if the MPs were firmly against him.
Rajapakshe was elected to parliament on the UNP ticket and on the PM’s recommendation, the president appointed him a minister.
A UNP backbencher told that the PM would ask the president next week to remove Rajapakshe.
Wijedasa’s response
When contacted, the justice minister told SLM that he heard about the request by the UNP backbenchers.
He said that the decision-makers have the power to take a decision.
Meanwhile, leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella today removed from the agenda a draft act on the criminal procedure code and a gazette notification on judicial organization submitted by the justice minister to parliament today.
