May 11, 2013, 6:40 pm

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By Franklin R. Satyapalan

National Organizer of the SLFP, Minister Basil Rajapaksa said yesterday that the government has still not reached finality on the longstanding proposition to repeal certain sections of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution considered obstacles to government’s development initiative.

He said the effort envisaged the scrapping of land and police powers, an issue which has gathered momentum with the impending Northern PC polls.

Rajapaksa was of the opinion that whatever the UPFA government’s final decision on the matter was, it would be the moral obligation and responsibility of all constituent political parties to abide by the President’s decision to conduct the Northern PC polls in September this year.

Meanwhile, Leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), Minister Wimal Weerawansa had stated that this party will start campaigning countrywide from tomorrow (13) to create awareness amongst the masses on the importance of conducting the Northern PC poll sans the controversial police and land powers.

When asked to comment on his party’s position on this crucial issue, Weerawansa refused to discuss it and promptly disconnected the line.

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) another constituent Party in the UPFA government led by Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka had also taken up the position that the party is opposed to holding the Northern PC polls and would campaign against it.

Basil Rajapaksa said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa would make the announcement calling for the holding of PC polls to the Northern, North Western and the Central Provinces at an auspicious time so that the elections could be held in September. The UPFA would not name its chief ministerial candidate as usual and its list of candidates would be multifaceted.

The UPFA list would include candidates of its constitutional parties such as the EPDP led by Minister Douglas Devananda in the Jaffna district, All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) headed by Minister Rishard Bathuideen in the Wanni district and the candidates of the Left parties in the coalition, the Minister told The Sunday Island.He said candidates of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) the main constituent party of the UPFA and independent Tamil candidates including academics, lawyers, doctors and intellectuals who had no affiliations whatsoever with any militant group or political party will also be included in the list..

Newspaper advertisements calling for applications from such individuals have been inserted to appear in many Tamil newspapers on Sunday (12) while discussions with prospective individual candidates are also continuing, he noted.

"The government has expectations that those elected should be good people who are dedicated to be of service to the Tamil community after the conclusion of the elections in the North", he explained.