Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe assured Parliament that he would not allow to amend Article 9 of the Constitution and will keep the status of Buddhism unchanged.
The argument arose when JO parliamentary group leader Dinesh Gunawardene charged that a draft of the Constitution was presented at a recent seminar at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).
The Premier tabled the documents circulated at the recent seminar at the BMICH on constitutional reforms held on June 28. He said such a document as pointed out by MP Gunawardena had not been circulated that day. He said he would look into the matter raised by MP Gunawardena and state the true situation.
MP Gunawardene said the Most Venerable Maha Nayaka Theras have got alarmed because according to the same draft, Article 9 of the Constitution and the status of Buddhism is to be taken away.
Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that if a document was distributed at the BMICH it would be wrong as such a thing cannot happen when the Steering Committee had not come to an agreement on any draft.
Premier Wickremesinghe said that what was available as of today are summaries of different proposals placed before the Steering Committee. “The Steering Committee had not come up with any draft,” the Premier said. “I will not allow to amend the Article 9 as long as I remain as the chairman of the Steering Committee.”
MP Gunawardene argued that the Prime Minister cannot deny that there is a proposal by some elements to amend the Article 9. He said Minister Rajitha Senaratne has no right to state at the Cabinet briefing that Maha Nayaka Theras had nothing to fear.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe later said he had inquired from the Steering Committee whether any draft has been put out. “I inquired from the Steering Committee, and they assured me now no draft had been circulated,” Premier Wickremesinghe said.
Leader of the House Minister Lakshman Kiriella said the document MP Gunawardena was referring to was not the one circulated at the seminar at the BMICH but what he had received from the Operation Committee as its member.