The issue of postponing the local elections in Sri Lanka continues to be a hot topic. Opposition parties are trying to put the government in the dock regarding this. Voting for the local elections was due on March 9. But the Election Commission postponed the election saying that it did not have the money to print ballot papers and other election works.
The general assessment in the Sri Lankan media was that the ruling party would face a humiliating defeat in these elections. There have been allegations from some quarters that the Election Commission made an excuse for the lack of resources to give relief to the ruling party. Now a group of MPs led by Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan Parliament Sajith Premadasa has demanded Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena summon the Finance Secretary. These MPs have submitted their letter in this regard to Abeywardhena.
In this letter, an explanation has also been sought regarding the letter written by Election Commission Chairman Nimal Punchihewa to the Speaker. It is said that Punchhieva wrote this letter to the speaker on February 24, asking him to arrange funds for the local elections. The announcement of postponing the election had already been made before sending this letter.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that at present there is no money to hold elections. In a statement given in Parliament, he said that all the parties should discuss this and find a solution. He said- 'The money is not available now. By the way, there is no election ahead. The Election Commission has not announced any new election schedule. What can we do then?
In this connection, Premadasa along with a group of opposition MPs met the Speaker on Tuesday. He claimed that if funds were arranged, the Election Commission would be ready to hold the elections immediately. He said that Rs 10 billion was allocated for the election work, which the government is not releasing. Premadasa has warned that if the local elections are not held, the prestige of the Parliament will also suffer.
Premadasa was accompanied by leaders of his party Samgai Jana Balawegaya (SJP) as well as dissident leaders of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujuna Peramuna (SLPP) who went to meet the speaker. He demanded Abeywardhena call the Finance Secretary and tell him that the opposition MPs wanted to discuss the problem of paucity of funds with him. Opposition MPs said- 'We want to present our arguments with figures in front of the Finance Secretary. After that, they can also present their stand as to why they are not giving money to the Election Commission.
But the speaker said that there is no such legal provision under which he can call the finance secretary using the power given to the parliament. While the opposition MPs argued that the Speaker can use his authority to call the Finance Secretary.
Google Bard: Google launches AI chatbot Bard in India, which will compete with ChatGPT
Tech giant Google has launched its AI tool Bard in India. Google Bard has been brought into competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Google's Conversation Generative Artificial Intelligence chatbot service
Narendra Modi: Central Hall 'The old Parliament House should be known as Samvidhan Sadan, its dignity should never be diminished, said PM Modi
Today is the second day of the special session of Parliament. From today, Parliament proceedings will be held in the new Parliament House. Earlier, while addressing the special session of Parliament,
Israel-Hamas War: 'This is the time for restraint as well as dialogue and diplomacy', what did PM Modi say on the Israel-Hamas war?
Amid the Hamas-Israel conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said new challenges are emerging from developments in West Asia and the time has come for countries in the Global South to speak
Adipurush Twitter Review: Prabhas Adipurush hit the theatres, see VFX and know how people reacted
Adipurush Twitter Review: Prabhas and Kriti Sanon starrer film 'Adipurush' fans were waiting for a long time. However, when the teaser of this film was released, people criticized the character of
Violence over Tipu-Aurangzeb in Kolhapur: Four companies of SRPF, 300 constables-60 officers deployed, situation under control now
Things are slowly becoming normal in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Most of the shops were seen open in the city on Thursday. At the same time, people were seen buying items of daily need. A senior police
Manipur: Three killed in fresh violence in Manipur, militants attack village
In the latest incident of violence in Manipur, three people have died. According to media reports, three villagers have been killed in an encounter with militants in Manipur's Ukhrul district.
Arvind Kejriwal Arrest: AAP's protest against CM's arrest, these metro stations closed; people troubled by traffic jam
Following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party called for nationwide protests against the BJP. Security was increased in many areas of Delhi. Police barricaded the
DC vs RCB: Based on the stormy innings of Kaap-Jess, Delhi scored a four, and RCB got its fifth consecutive defeat
RCB vs DC, WPL 2023. In the match played at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on 13 March, Delhi Capitals defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets. In this match, the Delhi team won the toss
Harmanpreet wept after losing the World Cup semi-final: Indian captain put on glasses, said - does not want the country to see me crying
Captain Harmanpreet of the Indian women's team was in tears after losing the semi-final against Australia in the T20 World Cup on Thursday. When former captain Anjum Chopra came to meet her after the
It will not be easy for Arvind Kejriwal to run the 'government' in jail... How will AAP deal with the political crisis?
Naturally, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in a money laundering case related to the excise scam and his subsequent imprisonment will affect the functioning of the Delhi government.