It was claimed the only thing the parliament could not do was turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man, nevertheless, parliament failed to send the cricket administration home!
The present President of Sri Lanka is elected to that position not by popular public vote but from the 134 MPs’ votes. If 134 parliamentary MPs vote an Executive president can be elected in Sri Lanka.
In 1964 parliament MPs got together and sent home then Prime Minister Mrs Bandarakayake. According to the constitution of Sri Lanka passing an impeachment in the parliament can send the President home. This is not just a president a president elected by the popular vote.
Similarly, by adopting a resolution in Parliament an MP can be sent home. In 1980 JRs government removed Mrs Bandaranayake by adopting a resolution in the parliament. Not only her civic rights removed she was prevented from exercising her voting rights and barred from contesting in an election for seven years.
In 2012 Sri Lankan Parliament sent home Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. In Sri Lanka only method a chief justice can be removed is by adopting a resolution in the parliament.
In 1972, after adopting the republic constitution, Mrs. Bandaranayake’s government told the British queen to leave immediately. By two third powers, the power of the crown was removed.
In 1998 JRs government adopted a new constitution in the parliament and appointed the prime minister as the president. JR went on record and said now parliament cannot only turn a woman into a man and Man a woman.
‘Parliament with five-sixth power can do anything except make a woman a man a woman ‘
These were JR’s proud words
In 2015 Maithri became president and through a parliament proposal transferred executive powers to the prime minister.
in 2019 when Gota became president acquired the powers transferred to the prime minister back.
All this was done with the power of two-thirds of the parliament. It is not easy to get two-thirds of the parliament. In 2011, Mahinda through a two-thirds vote changed the constitution to contest for the presidency once again, with the help of opposition MPs.
Mithril became president in 2015 and passed the 19th constitutional amendment by threatening the opposition MPs to be taken to the bribery commission. In 2019, Gotabhaya, who became the president, took over the executive power again by gathering the members of the opposition parties.
Despite that, not two-thirds of the parliament, but the whole 225 of the parliament came together and passed a resolution recently. That is the proposal to send the Cricket Control Board including the Chairman of the Cricket Control Board Shammi Silva home. The 19th constitutional amendment was adopted by the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Even though the government and the opposition were united, Sarath Weerasekera MP voted against it, so it was not an occasion where all 225 were united.
But all 225 together passed a resolution to send the Cricket Board home. The then Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe proposed that proposal. The day after the resolution was passed; Shammi Silva spoke to Asian Cricket Council president Jay Shah. After that, the media reported that Shammi Silva met Ranil. New Sports Minister Harin Fernando said in Parliament that Ranil spoke to Jay Shah after that.
Sajith said in Parliament that the Chairman of the Cricket Board wrote a letter to get Sri Lanka cricket banned. It didn’t take long. Ranil removed Sports Minister Roshan and made Hareen Sports Minister. Now Harin has abolished the interim committee appointed by former sports minister Roshan through a gazette. When Roshan appointed an interim committee through a gazette, Ranil said that the cabinet should have been informed before Roshan appointed the interim committee.
Did Harin before cancelling Roshan’s interim committee, inform it to the cabinet …?’
In this cabinet are the ministers who raised their hands on the proposal that the Cricket Board should be dissolved. Sajith presented that proposal to the Parliament. It was approved by Nimal Siripala. Also in that interim committee was Vijayadasa’s son Rakhitha Rajapakse. Prasanna Ranatunga’s brother Arjuna Ranatunga was its chairman.
‘Where were Dinesh, Nimal, Arjuna, Vijayadasa when Harin abolished the interim committee…?’
No one knows! But today the Cricket Board has made the 225 members of Parliament a joke.
‘You can chase away presidents, Chief Justices and Prime Ministers. You can do anything except make a woman a man and a man a woman. But you can’t drive us away…’
This is the way the Cricket Control Board cast their sarcasm towards the Parliament.
By appointing Hareen as Sports Minister and protecting the cricket board, Ranil taught a bitter lesson not only to Roshan Ranasinghe and Sajith, but also to his cabinet and MPs who voted to oust the cricket board.
It has been a long time since the court ruled that the local government elections should be held immediately. Despite that decision, Ranil sent the election commissioner home and appointed a new election commissioner. Nothing happened to the court decision.
All 225 members of the Parliament raised their hands to send the Cricket Board home. Despite that proposal, Ranil changed the sports minister and appointed another sports minister. Nothing happened to the proposal.
Behind the ban on cricket in Sri Lanka is not a problem of the International Cricket Council but a problem between Ranil and Roshan Ranasinghe. If Ranil intervened as the President of the country and let Sports Minister Roshan discuss with the Chairman of the Cricket Board of India, the Cricket Board would have gone home a long time ago. The Cricket Board prevented the Sports Minister from speaking to the Asian Cricket Council. Ranil and Hareen went in 2023 to a match with Cricket Board Chairman Shammi leaving away Roshan Ranasinghe. That’s when the game of kicking Roshan started. It was on that day that the message went to the Asian Cricket Council that the President of the country would not accept Sports Minister Roshan.
JR stated that anything other than changing a woman into a man or a man into a woman is possible with the power of five-sixths of Parliament. JR’s nephew Ranil demonstrated that even with all 225 willing, they could not remove the cricket board.
