The government succumbed to pressure from various groups, including students, and withheld the Equal Opportunities Bill, which was scheduled to be presented in Parliament on 7 October. The Bill seeks to make discrimination on several grounds, including ethnicity, gender, religion and language unlawful. It also provides for the establishment of an Equal Opportunity Commission and an Equal Opportunity Tribunal with powers of affirmative action where discrimination is alleged. In 1997, Mr Wickremasinghe rejected extensive devolution as contained in the government devolution proposals claiming that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution had settled the unit of devolution issue. The PA says that if the UNP is unwilling to go beyond the 13th Amendment, then the call for talks with the LTTE is a sham and is intended only to entice Tamil voters.
Elections are also the time for scapegoats.
Sources say that President Chandrika has severely criticized Justice minister GL Peiris for the lack of progress in the quest for constitutional reform. She is said to blame him for including a clause entrenching the highest status to Buddhism in the draft constitution, which she believes has given minorities further cause for concern. Mr Peiris is also under criticism for introducing the Equal Opportunities Bill and placing the government in a difficult position at election time.