Sirisena announces reconvening of Parliament on Nov 14
Colombo, Nov 4 : Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday announced reconvening of Parliament on November 14, which he had suspended last month, two days after sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replacing him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.
According to a gazette notification, issued by his Secretary Udaya R Seneviratne on Sunday evening, the assembly would be recalled on November 14.
In a dramatic turn of events, Rajapaksha was sworn in as new Prime Minister of the Indian Ocean island nation on October 26 after Sirisena sacked premier Wickremesinghe who termed the move as "unconstitutional" and vowed to prove his majority in Parliament.
The sudden development came amid growing tensions between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe on several policy matters and the President has been critical of the Prime Minister and his policies, especially on economy and security.
Sirisena's moves triggered a power struggle that some observers called a constitutional crisis.
Wickremesinghe termed the Sri Lankan president's move as "unconstitutional and illegal" and refused to leave the official residence, claiming he was still the legally appointed prime minister.
He also demanded a floor test in Parliament, following which Sirisena suspended Parliament on October 28 till November 16.
Wickremasinghe's United National Party handed over a motion of no confidence against new Prime Minister Rajapaksa. Senior UNP member Lakshman Kiriella said that Secretary General of Parliament was informed of the motion.
Since the suspension, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya came under pressure from political parties to defy Sirisena and reconvene the 225-member assembly.
The suspension was seen as a move to help Sirisena's prime ministerial nominee Mahinda Rajapaksa to cobble out his parliamentary majority.
The Rajapaksa-Sirisena combine has 96 MPs in the 225-member assembly, which is 17 short of the 113 required working majority.
But, with defection of at least nine legislators from Wickremesinghe's UNP and from the main Tamil party, TNA, Rajapaksha claims that he is just eight seats short of majority.
According to parliamentary officials, it was up to the parliamentary party leaders to agree if a floor test should be included in the agenda when the House is reconvened.
Foreign governments, rights groups, the United Nations have urged Sirisena to summon Parliament immediately and end the crisis.
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Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link was opened to vehicular traffic on Saturday noon after a delay caused by the dismantling of inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work, a day after the Pune section became operational.
The 13.3 km-long "missing link", which bypasses a section of the Bhor Ghat stretch of the expressway and cuts travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25 to 30 minutes, was inaugurated a day earlier by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.
The Pune-bound carriageway of the corridor was opened to traffic immediately; however, the Mumbai-bound section remained closed to traffic for several hours after the inauguration.
An official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation told PTI on Saturday that the opening of the Mumbai-bound carriageway was delayed mainly due to the dismantling of the inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work.
The removal of the stage and other decorations was completed in the morning. The work to load and transport the material slightly delayed the opening of the carriageway.
Vehicular movement on the carriageway began after all the remaining material was cleared and road cleaning was completed, the official added.
The expressway control room said that despite significant vehicular movement, the access-controlled highway has not witnessed any major traffic snarls since Friday evening, after the Pune-bound carriageway of the missing link was opened to traffic.
The Missing Link project connects Khopoli (in Raigad) on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala in Pune district and is expected to make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the ghat section.
Developed by the MSRDC and dubbed an "engineering marvel", the project includes two tunnels, two viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley. It bypasses the steep, accident-prone ghat section, where frequent traffic snarls are reported during weekends and on public holidays.
