Newly-appointed PM Rajapaksa calls for snap Parliamentary election
(l-R) Maithripala Sirisena, Ranil Wickremesinghe
Colombo: The political crisis in Sri Lanka took an ugly turn on Sunday when bodyguards of Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, a loyalist of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, fired live rounds at the supporters of the new premier Mahinda Rajapaksa, leaving one person dead.
One person succumbed to his injuries and two others were hospitalised in the shooting incident and a security personnel was arrested at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) premises in Dematagoda following a tense situation on Sunday, police said. The incident took place when the cricketer-turned-politician visited the CPC office, with several Ceylon Petroleum Corporation workers objecting to his presence at the office.
When Ranatunga entered the building the supporters of the new Prime Minister Rajapaksa took exception to him visiting the office and shouted slogans. When they were not allowed to move out, shots were fired which injured three persons. Unconfirmed reports said that two of Ranatunga’s security personnel have been arrested.
Meanwhile, in his first address to the nation after sacking Wickremesinghe, Maithripala Sirisena said his former ally’s political conduct since the victory in 2015 elections was unbecoming. “He completely destroyed the concept of good governance while corruption and waste became rampant. He was making arrogant arbitrary decisions making a mockery of collective responsibility,” Sirisena charged.
Rajapaksa called for a snap parliamentary election to allow people vote for a new programme to overcome Sri Lanks’a economic and political crisis. This was the first public statement by the former strongman since Sirisena appointed him as the new premier after sacking Wickremesinghe. More on P6
Speaker refuses to endorse Ranil’s sacking as PM
COLOMBO: In a relief to Sri Lanka’s embattled leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Parliament’s Speaker refused to endorse his sacking as the PM, even as President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday asserted that the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as his successor was in strict accordance with the Constitution. In a letter to Sirisena, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya backed the ousted PM’s request to retain his privileges and security until another candidate could prove a majority, saying it was “democratic and fair”. He also questioned the president’s decision to suspend Parliament till November 16, saying it will have “serious and undesirable” consequences on the country.