Confused Sirisena yielding ground to resurgent Mahinda Rajapakse-Indian media

The fledgling Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe government appears to be yielding ground to a resurgent former President Mahinda Rajapaksa because of internal disunity, contradictory policies and indecisive political leadership, The New Indian Express reported.  The first concrete sign of deep trouble appeared on Tuesday when the government’s bid to get parliament’s nod for raising the threshold of Treasury Bills by LKR 400 billion to meet vital government expenditure was defeated by 21 votes. The defeat clearly indicated that the government cannot take for granted the support of the opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) for the 19 th. Constitutional Amendment. This amendment is meant to dilute the powers of the President and increase the powers of the Prime Minister and parliament. It was a major plank of Sirisena’s Presidential election campaign and is the brainchild of the United National Party (UNP) his electoral ally.  The SLFP’s position is anomalous. It is with the government to the extent that its chairman, Sirisena, is the President of Sri Lanka and 29 of its MPs are ministers. But it is in the Opposition because the UNP is its traditional political rival. The SLFP wants Sirisena to ditch the UNP form an SLFP-led government as the SLFP is the single largest party in parliament. But Sirisena is dithering, torn between his electoral ally UNP and his own party, the SLFP. Frustrated, many SLFP MPs and supporters are now flocking to public meetings organized by Rajapaksa’s  acolytes, and demanding that he lead the party. The SLFP has made it clear that it will not vote for the 19 th Amendment if the directly elected President is not recognized as the Head of the Government and if electoral reforms are not introduced simultaneously. It has asked Sirisena not to yield to the UNP’s demand for a mid-term poll in June. Meanwhile, many multi-million dollar development projects initiated by Rajapaksa have ground to a halt, partly due to a policy paralysis and partly due to investigations into corrupt deals. Ministers constantly contradict each other. Hopes of employment generation have dimmed. The promised lowering of prices has not happened. And Rajapaksa shines in contrast as a decisive leader, whose regime, though corrupt, delivered.  (P.K.Balachandran- The New Indian Express) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/69239/confused-sirisena-yielding-ground-to-resurgent-mr-indian-media#sthash.7ngamUdF.dpuf
News courtesy :  http://www.dailymirror.lk

PS : News article in New Indian Express :
http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Confused-Sirisena-Yielding-Ground-to-Resurgent-Rajapaksa/2015/04/08/article2754249.ece

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Sri Lanka Budget 2014

Live blog- Budget 2014 Daily Mirror Online will give live coverage of the budget 2014 reading presented to parliament today 15.19 - Not too sure if TNA was present. It will be interesting to see what the UNP and the JVP have to say on the budget proposals. Signing off for now is the Daily Mirror web team. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. 15.18 - Sittings adjourned to 9.30 am tommorrow 1517- Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa speacks, congratualtes President on being appointed Commonwealth Head 15.14- President ends two hour long speech 15.13- Await Public services Commission reccomendation on increasing salary 15.13 - Cost of Living allowance to be increased by Rs.1200 from January 2014 for state workers. 15.07- Expanding Police training schools and other facilities. 15.06 - Three new Housing complexes to be constructed to ensure Policemen serving in Colombo would have no problem in location. 15.05 - Civil Security in the North and to keep law and order in the country Police service plays a pivotal role. 15.03 - Judges personal allowances to be increased by 8% to keep the proffession viable and attractive. http://www.dailymirror.lk/top-story/39086-live-blog-budget-2014.html

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