JVP extends conditional support to New WPC Chief Minister
 

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The JVP group of the Western Provincial Council (WPC) yesterday extended its conditional support to Nandana Mendis who was proposed by the People's Alliance as the new Chief Minister of the WPC.

Mendis was later sworn in as Chief Minister before Governor Alavi Mowlana. He also retains his ministerial portfolios.

A MOU submitted by the JVP contains 50 proposals relating to policy and development matters. The document is to signed between the JVP and PA once Mendis assumes office as the new Chief Minister.

"It is scheduled to be implemented for one year," JVP Group Leader of the Western Provincial Council Waruna Deepthi Rajapakse told a media briefing at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute yesterday.

"Both parties have reached an agreement on these proposals which includes proposals to stop the proposed educational reforms process within the Western Province, the launch of a special program to send non-school going children to schools, further develop the Tamil medium unit implemented in the Western Province, rectify the errors relating to the appointment of principals and Zonal Education Directors and look into the malpractices which occurred in the Local Government sector of the Western Province and the disclosure of such malpractices to the public," he said.

However Rajapakse noted that the JVP is firm on the stand of defeating the proposed Tsunami Joint Mechanism structure of the UPFA Government. Therefore if the Government signs this Joint Mechanism, the JVP will immediately withdraw from this MoU. "All agreements reached with the JVP in the WPC will mainly hinge on this Joint Mechanism issue. Therefore the Joint Mechanism is a more decisive factor."

He said Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana yesterday called a discussion of Party Leaders represented in the WPC to take a decision on appointing a new Chief Minister to the WPC which has presently fallen vacant due to resignation of WPC Chief Minister Reginald Cooray.

During this meeting, the PA proposed the name of Mendis as the PA Chief Ministerial candidate while the UNP proposed Kithsiri Kahatapitiya as their candidate. The PA has 36 members while the UNP has 39 members in the WPC. The JVP has 23 members. No party has a 51 per cent majority in the WPC to appoint their candidate as the Chief Minister.

However, the JVP decided to extend its support to Mendis based on certain conditions thus preventing the Provincial Council being reduced to a state of anarchy and obstructing reactionary forces from gaining power, Rajapakse said. Following a decision taken by the JVP on the proposed Tsunami Joint Mechanism structure, the JVP group of the WPC decided to function as an independent group within the opposition, he said.

Rajapakse said a majority of charges included in the UNP backed No-confidence motion against former WPC Chief Minister Cooray were justified. Therefore the JVP stated it could not intervene to defend him. The JVP requested the leadership to take a decision on this issue.

But the JVP decided to extend its fullest support to defend the WPC Minister Hector Bethmage regarding the No-confidence motion levelled against him by the UNP because the UNP had moved this No-confidence motion against Bethmage following a statement made by him in the council to gain narrow political advantage, he said.