Sri Lanka opposition MP says dual citizens in parliament should resign with dignity intact

ECONOMYNEXT – Legislators in Sri Lanka who maintain twin citizenship should resign following the enactment of the twenty first modification to the structure, opposition MP Patali Champika Ranawaka stated.

“I believe everybody who holds twin citizenship ought to resign now with their dignity intact. They haven’t any proper to carry this place,” Ranawaka stated at a press convention on Monday October 24.

With the intention to maintain a place of authority in a rustic, he stated, one should have a way of connection and obligation to that nation. Anybody who has taken an oath to bear arms within the defence of one other nation can’t be thought of a citizen official of Sri Lanka not to mention a public official, he added.

Former authorities MP Dilan Perera, who’s now a member of one in every of many “impartial” factions of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), advised reporters on Monday that it was the “kaputu (crow)” faction of the SLPP that had against the twenty second modification invoice.

Perera was ostensibly referring to SLPP organiser Basil Rajapaksa who has US citizenship and is presently within the US.

The MP additionally claimed that President Ranil Wickremesinghe had obtained the assist of some MPs who had initially opposed the modification by promising to not dissolve parliament till 4 and a half years had handed since August 2020. However the ‘kaputu’ faction remained resolute of their opposition, he stated, over the clause banning twin residents from getting into parliament.

Opposition MP Rauf Hakim, in the meantime, stated a proper to data (RTI) software may be despatched to the final secreatry of parliament to seek out out which MPs are twin residents.

The twenty second modification invoice was handed in parliament on Friday October 21 with 174 voting for it within the third studying and just one MP – ruling celebration legislator Sarath Weerasekara – voting towards.

The modification, now successfully and formally the ’twenty first modification to the structure’, is a diluted model of the nineteenth modification which sought to cut back among the powers of the manager presidency. (Colombo/Oct24/2022)