The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by Sirisena would not agree to a federal set-up in the new Constitution said senior minister of transport, Nimal Siripala de Silva this week.
Addressing reporters in Kandy, Mr. De Silva stated clearly, "[t]here are three things that our party believes very strongly in the current constitutional reform process...The position for Buddhism must not be diluted, the unitary character of the state must be preserved and there cannot be a federal system."
De Silva's statement comes a week after the Constitutional Sub-Committees released their reports to the Constitutional Assembly. The Constitutional Steering Committee is expected to release its interim report on December 10 which will consider all of the Sub-Committee reports and make recommendations on the contentious issues of Nature of the State, Religion and Principles of Devolution.
All Tamil political parties have made clear that the political solution they seek is a federal constitution.
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