Rukman’s exclusion irks Choksy Jnr

National List paves way intellectuals to enter Parliament:

Sarath MALALASEKERA

The National List has been created by President Ranasinghe Premadasa for intellectuals who are not cut out to get to the grassroots levels and campaign because they are persons who are professionals engaged in a profession or vocation.

These are persons who were required to take Cabinet decisions but were unable to take up Ministries as it is a requirement to be an MP. So the late President Premadasa paved the way for these people to enter Parliament.

As such it would be incorrect to call it “a refugee camp for politically displaced persons.” This would be so only when it is abused by political parties to include in Parliament defeated candidates, said Attorney at Law V.K. Choksy, son of former UNP Minister of Finance, Constitutional and State Affairs and President’s Counsel K.N. Choksy.

Overlooked

Attorney Choksy at an interview said that it is a shame to learn that Rukman Senanayake had been overlooked as regards to the National List. It was the present leadership of the UNP who refused to amalgamate with the JVP simply because of the prestigious Elephant symbol chosen by his grandfather, the founder of the UNP and his uncle who have together enriched the party and taken the party to great heights with their noble and philanthropist ways.

This very symbol was used to fetch votes of folks regardless of the candidates and manifesto. It is very unfair that these same people used his symbol and then leaves the founder’s grandson out and include some who have done nothing for the party. Why was he then deprived of contesting in their homeland where he would have definitely won along with his nephews.

Stalwarts

When asked of his view that the party stalwarts should have remained, Attorney Choksy said he cannot comment on the other parties except that he observed that the ruling party quite correctly dropped the candidates who have been rejected by the people.

With regard to the UNP National List that there was enough to accommodate the nine in accordance to the order given in its original National List - but unfortunately the UNP National List seems to be more a personal list comprising persons affiliated to defeated candidates and others who are personally known to the leader and unknown to others in the party and those who have made no contribution to the party but only to its leader.

The UPFA have given priority to party loyalists and professionals in their lists. So also the DNA, he said.

In 1989 when President Premadasa created the National List, my father (President’s Counsel Choksy) was the first to be nominated.

He reluctantly accepted the same and ever since he has been in Parliament for over 21 years without any interference with his professional work. It was the late President D.B. Wijetunga who first appointed President’s Counsel Choksy as Minister of Constitutional and State Affairs, his office was the present Prime Minister’s Office.

This Ministry was created for him as he is a Constitutional expert. At this point he had to give up his practice temporarily, he said.

The Presidential election petition case filed by Sirimavo Bandaranaike challenging the victory of President Ranasinghe Premadasa was argued by President’s Counsel Choksy, when he was a law student in 1990. Some of the legal arguments were generated on certain Articles of the Constitution. In fact this case has been recorded in the Guiness Book of records for being the longest argued case in history as it went off for well over two years day to day result being a Five Bench Judgement in his favour, he said.

Reforms

Attorney Choksy emphasised that the requirement of the Opposition in the present crisis would be to intervene in Constitutional Reforms which I don’t think the present team are conversed with or able to as there are no Constitutional experts on the National List of the UNP in Parliament.

Asked whether he would participate in ousting the present UNP leadership, Attorney Choksy said “My father saved the present leader a number of times as he was in the Working Committee of the party, but I am not a member of the party.”

“I will decide at the correct time to be a member of the Party,” Attorney Choksy said.