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Bandaranaike resigns ahead of Lankan cabinet reshuffle

K J M Varma in Colombo

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka's octogenarian prime minister, on Thursday demitted office ahead of a proposed cabinet reshuffle by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Parliament was told that Bandaranaike, who turned 84 this April, would be replaced by Minister for Public Administration and Home Affairs Ratnasiri Wickramanayake.

Wickramanayke, a close associate of Bandaranaike, has been handpicked to succeed her due to his proximity to right-wing Sinhalese Buddhist monks who have been doggedly opposing the draft constitution bill.

The proposed cabinet reshuffle follows the government's failure this week to mobilise the required two-thirds majority to pass the new constitution bill. The influential Sinhala Buddhist monks and the opposition United Nationalist Party have rejected it as it grants broad autonomy to the Tamil-dominated north and eastern provinces.

Though the bill has not been withdrawn from parliament, voting on it was postponed two days ago (on Tuesday).

The government has little time left (to pass the bill) as parliament is scheduled to be dissolved on August 24 followed by general elections in November.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first woman prime minister in the world when she was elected to office in 1960 following the assassination of her husband and prime minister S W R D Bandaranaike. She decided to retire after her daughter and president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, announced the decision to revamp the cabinet ahead of this year's general elections.

Commenting on Bandaranaike's decision to quit, sources in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party said that her retirement would create 'a major vacuum'.

During the last 40 years, Sirimavo has been a dominant figure in Lankan politics, having served as the country's prime minister thrice. She also made a mark in international politics by forging a close friendship with many of her contemporaries, especially with former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.

She handed over the leadership of the SLFP to her widowed daughter, Chandrika. Beaten in the succession battle, her brother Anura Bandaranaike quit the SLFP in a huff and joined the rival UNP.

Although Bandaranaike has been virtually confined to the wheelchair for the past four years due to serious illnesses, she continued as prime minister as Chandrika needed her support to run the party, sources said.

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