Ranil Wickremesinghe likely to take oath as Sri Lanka's PM on Sunday
Colombo, Dec 15: Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to take oath as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister on Sunday after disputed Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign on Saturday, signalling an end to the nearly two-month power tussle in the island nation.
President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday, Colombo Page reported.
Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said that it was decided during the discussion that he will take oath as the Prime Minister at 10 am on Sunday.
The President removed Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister on October 26 and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the Premier, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.
Wickremesinghe refused to accept the sacking and challenged it in a court and in the Parliament.
The daily reported that a new Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday. The Cabinet will consist of 30 members and include six Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians, it said.
Rajapaksa's son on Friday announced that the former strongman will resign on Saturday, after two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the embattled leader's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.
The apex court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.
"To ensure stability of the nation, Former President @PresRajapaksa has decided to resign from the Premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation," Rajapaksa's son Namal tweeted.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) with former president, SLFP and others will "now work to form a broader political coalition with President Sirisena", Namal, a lawmaker, added.
The apex court's Friday ruling came a day after it unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was "illegal".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
RS proceedings adjourned for day amid opposition protest over Adani bribery row, other issues
New Delhi(PTI): Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Wednesday as opposition members insisted on a discussion on various issues, including bribery charges related to the Adani Group.
The proceedings were briefly adjourned in the morning session due to opposition protest, and when the House re-assembled at 11.30 AM, there were identical scenes.
This prompted Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to adjourn the proceedings for the day, saying the "House is not in order".
The trobule started after Dhankhar rejected 18 notices under a rule of the House to suspend scheduled business and take up issues mentioned in the notices.
The notices related to demand for 'constitution of a JPC to investigate the alleged misconduct, including corruption, bribery, financial irregularities of the Adani Group in connivance with other authorities', violence in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and rising incidents of crime in the national capital.
"Upper House needs to reflect and follow well-established traditions that ruling of the Chair requires reference and not cause differences. I have, in detail, given reasons why, in these situations, notices are not being accepted," Dhankhar said while rejecting the notices under Rule 267 of the House.
On Monday also, the Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day during the morning session itself as opposition insisted on raising the issues related to Adani Group.
There was no sitting of the House on Tuesday.
The Adani Group said on Wednesday that Gautam Adani, and his nephew Sagar have not been charged with any violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment that authorities filed in the New York court in an alleged bribery case.
