TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran has charged the Supreme Court, just as much as Parliament, swings like a pendulum.”
He was speaking during the debate on the 22nd amendment to the constitution, which has since been adopted.
“The Supreme Court has also swung like a pendulum. In the 19th amendment bill, they permitted various changes, and said that this doesn’t require a referendum but now the same Supreme Court says you require a referendum. It’s not only Parliament that swings like a pendulum, it’s the Supreme Court too,”
“Ask them also to go home. If they can’t read and understand their own determination in the 19th amendment, you are showing the country something when it is not, and that is potentially harmful because the confidence people have in these institutions have eroded and have been totally destroyed. When they find Parliament has also misled us, it leads us to think that some major reform has to take place. When there is no reform, they will only take to the streets.”
MP Sumanthiran pointed out that many MPs have voted in favour of all the amendments - 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22 amendments – contradicting them at each.
“Many members of this House voted for the 17th amendment to the constitution. The same members voted for the 18th amendment. Those very members voted for the 19th amendment and for the 20th amendment. And today, they are all ready to vote for the 22nd amendment. They are like a pendulum. They swing from one end to the other.”
“What type of Parliament is this? No wonder that the country says to be done with these 225. Why is this 22nd amendment coming today? It is coming because people in the country want a system change, not some tinkering with the constitution. Some tinkering happened from the 17th onwards, but this bill before the House today doesn’t even tinker with the constitution. If it’s passed it will still retain all the powers of the executive presidency, which is an absolute fraud. In 1994, the presidential election manifesto said the executive presidency would be abolished within six months. That six months have still not come apparently.”
“Every candidate at every presidential election comes to the people and says ‘I will abolish the executive presidency’. You are lying to the people saying this is the first step towards that and in fact none of the powers of the executive president was taken away by this bill. It is a big lie and a hoax to say that the executive powers will be abolished and we will pass this before that.”
