President Ranil Wickremesinghe is keen on delivering on his promise to the Aragalaya activists to set up a People’s Council System (Jana Sabha) and giving it a legal mandate, State Minister of Media Shantha Bandara told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
The President is determined to fulfill this pledge before the next Local Government election, said Shantha Bandara.
He said the President recently directed the Cabinet, State Ministers, and the authorities to hasten action to set up a Jathika Jana Sabha Secretariat (National People’s Council Secretariat). The Cabinet approved President Wickremesinghe’s proposal to set up the Jathika Jana Sabha Secretariat on October 11. With regard to drafting laws to legitimise the Jathika Jana Sabha Secretariat, Justice Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapkshe said they anticipate a coordinated effort from President Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in this connection.
State Minister Shantha Bandara said the members of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna who backed the Aragalaya protest activists and later declined to participate in the All-Party Government or Parliamentary National Council, can now participate in the Jathika Jana Sabha Secretariat to contribute to the country and its people.
“The Jathika Jana Sabha Secretariat system will help the public to contribute to the formulation and amendment of the laws of the land. It can contribute to a system change,” said Bandara adding, “I hope that the JVP will rise to the occasion along with the Jana Sabhas rather than feeding on the “wrongs” of the current system.”