Cabinet posts for Hakeem, Cader and Lakshman?By Gagani WeerakoonThree of the 17 opposition members, who supported the 18th Amendment, are tipped to receive ministerial portfolios in the new Cabinet expected to be sworn in November, sources told The Nation last night.Three other crossovers are to be appointed Deputy Ministers, the sources added.A major Cabinet reshuffle is widely expected following President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term inauguration due in November.
“There will be no changes in regard to some key ministries. However, new additions to the Cabinet will call for a redistribution of subjects and functions,” a source said.UNP dissidents Abdul Cader and Lakshman Seneviratne and SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem are expected to be appointed Ministers.
Two of the three Deputy Ministers to be sworn in will be from among the UNP dissidents and the third legislator will be from the SLMC, which has eight members in parliament. SLFP general secretary Maitripala Sirisena has meanwhile assured that the defectors would not lose their parliamentary seats despite the UNP’s threat to expel them.
“Even at the time 17 UNP MPs including Karu Jayasuriya crossed over to the government, they said the dissidents would be expelled. They filed law suits against them. Nothing happened to them. The same Constitution and the same laws in operation at that time are in operation even today. Nothing will happen to UNP MPs who supported the government. We will not allow anything detrimental happen to them. We will guarantee their security,” he said.
Asked whether the government is going to offer `special rewards’ to the UNP MPs who supported the government, Minister Sirisena said: “We did not promise them any special treatment. Nor did they ask anything. The need to grant them any privileges too will not arise. Those MPs may have thought it is more productive to support the government than remain in a party wracked by internal strife. They would continue to enjoy the same privileges as those being enjoyed by the government MPs. We will provide funding for the development projects they launch in their respective areas. That is what they want most.”
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