Lanka crisis: Rajapaksa has support of 113 MPs to prove premiership, says President Sirisena
Colombo, Nov 5 : Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday claimed he has the support of 113 parliamentarians to prove the premiership of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
His comments came after Lankan Speaker Karu Jayasuriya earlier in the day slammed Sirisena's "unconstitutional and undemocratic" actions to sack Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and suspend Parliament, saying he will not recognise Rajapaksa as the new premier unless he wins a floor test.
"We have already got our 113 MPs, I will not take back the step I have taken forward... have taken all steps in accordance with the constitution," Sirisena told a public rally, referring to his decision to sack Wickremesinghe.
Sirisena suspended parliamentary proceedings until November 16 after abruptly firing Wickremesinghe and replacing him with Rajapaksa, a controversial former president, on October 26.
The Speaker had expected parliament to reconvene on November 7. However, Sirisena Sunday issued notice to reconvene Parliament on November 14.
Wickremesinghe, whose party dubbed the move a "constitutional coup", refused to vacate his official residence, saying he is the lawful prime minister and that the president has no constitutional right to replace him.
The rally, attended by thousands of supporters, was the first public show of Sirisena and Rajapaksa together after the island nation plunged into a constitutional crisis.
With eight United National Party and one Tamil National Alliance legislators defecting to Rajapaksa camp, he is now just eight seats short of the 'magic number' 113 to prove his majority in the 225-member House.
While addressing the rally, Sirisena said before opting for Rajapaksa as his prime ministerial choice, he had offered the premiership position to Speaker Jayasuriya and deputy PM Sajith Premadasa. "However, both of them refused to challenge their leader," Sirisena said.
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Karnataka Health Dept bars leave for staff amid ASHA workers’ strike starting Aug 12
Bengaluru, Aug 11 (PTI): In response to a planned three-day strike by ASHA workers starting August 12, the Karnataka Health Department on Monday issued a notice prohibiting all officers and staff from taking leave during the protest period, except in cases of medical emergencies.
Accredited Social Health Activists workers are demanding the fixed honorarium of Rs 10,000 promised by the state government in January. They have announced a continuous state-level protest from August 12 to 14.
The notice stated, “Information about ASHA workers absent from duty within district limits will be collected daily from primary health centres, compiled at the district level, and submitted to the commissionerate by 3 pm during the protest.”
The Health Department also urged community health officers, primary health protection officers, health inspectors, and Anganwadi workers to cooperate in ensuring that health services to the public remain uninterrupted.
