'MPs must be present at question time'

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa responding to a special statement by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on the absence of members of Parliament of both the Government and the Opposition during Parliamentary sittings, described the issue as a matter of utmost importance and added that it would be very helpful to the House if all members were present when sittings commenced.

The Opposition Leader has stressed the importance of taking immediate action to restore the dignity and decorum of the House. He drew the attention of the House to the need of introducing a fixed time for the MPs to attend and leave the sittings.

He pointed out that most MPs don't participate in debates or remain in the House.

The Speaker told the House that all members of Parliament should draw attention to the matter raised by the Opposition Leader. He said a disciplinary committee has been appointed under the chairmanship of Senior Minister D.E.W Gunasekera and assured the House this matter would be referred to that committee.

The Opposition Leader called for an audit every three months on the MPs' participation in Parliamentary sessions and publish the names of those who present and other who failed. Wickremesinghe also said that the Ministers were not in the Chamber to respond to queries raised by MPs. If the MPs and Ministers are not present to ask questions and give answers it amounts to deliberate disrespect to the House. Some MPs who are listed to ask in the Order Paper to ask questions were not present. He also said a similar situation could also be witnessed when the Speaker reads out the names of MPs and Ministers to present their public petitions.

Wickremesinghe stressed the importance of Parliament. Visitors to Public gallery too have expressed their displeasure at the MPs' absence. At the outset of the session only 10-15 MPs are present in the House. This is a serious situation that demands immediate action to rectify it, he said. The Opposition Leader also pointed out that the member of Parliament too are public servants. There could be weddings, funerals and other functions to be attended but the MPs should give priority to attend Parliament. Their absence results in lowering the dignity of Parliament.

When the morning session deprive the Ministers of being present in their ministries, it was agreed to conduct sessions in the afternoon. Now most of the Ministers and MPs are not in the chamber. A single parliamentary session costs several millions of rupees, Wickremesinghe said. The Speaker told the House that steps could be taken to reality the situation if the Parliament's Business Committee submits a report following a study. He assured the House this matter would be discussed at the Parliament's Business Committee presided by Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara.

After the Opposition Leader concluded his speech, UPFA MP A.H.M. Azwer raising a point of order queried as to how many minutes does the Opposition Leader stay in the House during Parliamentary sessions? He said the Opposition Leader should first set the example. Wickremesinghe told the House in lighter vein lunatics should not be in the Chamber.

The Speaker again drew the attention of the Parliamentary correspondents on the importance of balance reporting of proceedings and fair coverage for both the government and the opposition MPs.

He said so following a point of order raised by Chief Government Whip Minister Dinesh Gunawardena who pointed out that a privately-owned English language daily newspaper had reported only the questions raised by the Opposition while the response by government had been completely shut out. Minister Gunawardena said that this injustice has created a wrong impression in people's mind. He said this could also amount to the breach of privileges of government MPs.

Speaker Rajapaksa said privileges have been afforded to Parliamentary correspondents in the hope that they would give a fair and balanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. Therefore, he called upon both government and privately-owned media in all streams, print and electronic to give equal coverage to both Government and Opposition, so that nobody would be affected.

Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga raising a point of order said that the tradition of the House is breached and violated when the subject Ministers were absent at question time to answer to questions and more time is asked to them to respond. MP Amaratunga said that it had become a habit for Chief Government Whip to read out answers sent by Ministers although he is not aware of the affairs in other ministries to respond to supplementary questions by Opposition members. Speaker said it would be an honour to the House if the subject Ministers could be present to aware the questions by Opposition members.

The issue of Z-score became a debatable topic following a special statement made by the Opposition Leader on the injustices caused to students as a result of applying the same Z-score system to an examination held under two syllabuses. He said the right to free education has to be ensured while the right to education should be a fundamental right. If the government brings such an amendment, the UNP will support it.

Wickremesinghe told the House that the ruling given by the Supreme Court to rectify the injustice caused to students should be respected. Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake who responded to the queries raised by the Opposition Leader told Parliament that a three-member expert committee has been appointed to advise the University Grants Commission (UGC) on how to implement the Supreme Court ruling on the Z-score calculation. He said the UGC is working expeditiously to implement the Court's ruling. He also assured the House that the university admissions will begin without delay once this matter is sorted out.

Leader of the House and Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the House that nobody has a right to abuse media freedom and values to achieve untoward goals. The raid conducted on Sri Lanka Mirror and Sri Lanka X-News and the subsequent arrest of suspects were done on a Court search warrant. Responding to a statement made by Opposition Leader demanding action against police officers who conducted the raid, the Minister said the Criminal Investigation Department alerted by police that the premises were being used for anti-State activities had obtained a search warrant from the Chief Magistrate Colombo to search the said location and arrest suspects and to seize any material used to instigate people against the State.

The pay hike demanded by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) employees came up when Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka responded to a query raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake. He told Parliament that the employees of the CEB receive a higher salary compared to other institutions and there is no possibility to increase their salaries by 45 percent as demanded.

He told the House the salaries of CEB workers are increased every three years and accordingly this year too their salaries had been increased by 25 percent.

Salary increments are made after taking the inflation rate and the salaries paid to employees of other institutions into consideration. The Minister pointed out that a trainee labourer with Advanced Level qualifications attached to the CEB draws a salary of Rs. 25,000 a month. A government medical officer is paid only Rs 29,000 a month.

The issue of using back up vehicles by some Government MPs was hilighted in the House following a query raised by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera. Minister Dinesh Gunawardena who responded to the MP informed the House except two policemen no other security facilities including back up vehicles are not provided for an MP. However MP Jayasekera said the answer was wrong as some MPs have been provided with back up vehicles. The Minister who denied the MP's statement said a MP is entitled to only two security men. No back up vehicles are provided to them.