Sarvajana Balaya leader Dilith Jayaweera has accused the government of exercising a degree of authoritarian rule that even former President J.R. Jayewardene did not, telling supporters in Buttala that the administration has reached the point of disregarding the advice of the country’s Chief Prelates.
The parliamentarian was speaking on Sunday afternoon at a ceremony on the Buttala public grounds, where appointments were presented to electorate-level leaders of the Sarvajana Balaya in the Monaragala District. The event was held under his patronage.
Jayaweera said the government’s policies and conduct showed an increasing concentration of power and a disregard for established institutions and for advice offered to it. He argued that its refusal to heed the views of the Chief Prelate was a serious development warranting public attention.
The comparison being drawn
The reference to Jayewardene is a pointed one in Sri Lankan politics. His presidency, from 1978, introduced the executive presidency under the second republican constitution and is associated with a period of significant constitutional and political change — a benchmark opposition figures reach for when alleging concentration of power.
Jayaweera did not, in Ada Derana’s account, identify the specific law, decision or incident behind the charge, or say which Chief Prelate’s advice he considered to have been ignored, or on what question. The report gives the accusation without the underlying particulars.
Context
Jayaweera has made comparable arguments before. In June he accused the government of misusing the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and at the Sarvajana Balaya May Day rally he attacked the administration’s record on corruption.
The remarks land while the government is defending the 22nd Amendment against 30 Supreme Court petitions, a fight in which critics have made similar arguments about executive encroachment on institutions. Ada Derana did not link Jayaweera’s comments to that dispute.
The appointment of electorate-level organisers in Monaragala suggests the Sarvajana Balaya is building district structures. No other verified newsroom had reported the Buttala remarks at the time of writing.
