Northern PC in limbo as CM wants his way
With two months left for the expiration of the term of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), its functions are crippled, as its Board of Ministers (BoM) have failed to meet for over three months, due to a longstanding legal battle between the Chief Minister (CM) and a minister.
In a move to resolve the current deadlock that has severely affected the Northern administrative machinery, NPC Chairman C.V.K. Sivagnanam wrote to CM Wigneswaran and Governor Reginald Cooray recently, urging both to act in compliance with the legal provisions related to the numerical restrictions on the BoM, without any further delay. The dispute over numerical restrictions on the number of ministers in the NPC came in the light of an Interim Order (IO) issued by the Court of Appeal, following a petition filed by one of its ministers, B. Deniswaran. The Court held that the manner in which the minister was removed from the BoM was not in compliance with the Law, and ordered that his ministerial portfolios be restored with immediate effect.
As of now, there are five PC Ministers in the NPC, in which, two of them were appointed after Mr Deniswaran was removed and his ministerial portfolio divided among the the ministers. According to Constitutional numerical restrictions, only five ministers, including the CM, can form the NPC Cabinet. The NPC Chairman noted the current composition of the BoM is not in compliance with the Provisions of Article 154 F (6), which states, “The BoM shall be collectively responsible and answerable to the NPC, and the IO issued by the Court of Appeal that ordered reinstatement of a Minister.
Noting that appointment/removal of a minister is a joint action by both the CM and the Governor, who comprise the appointing authority, Chairman Sivagnanam told the Sunday Times that, without NPC Cabinet sittings taking place in due time, the NPC’s affairs and the NPC led programmes are halted with much confusion. Meanwhile, the question over the legal validity of the existing NPC Cabinet was also raised by Opposition Leader S. Thavarasa, who wrote to NPC Chief Secretary, querying whether salaries can be paid to the ministers and their personal staff, in view of the Court order issued to reinstate a Minister, which would bring the total number of NPC ministers to 6. The Chief Secretary wrote to the Governor this week, seeking his guidance over the issue.