'UNP fishing in troubled waters'

Government legislators on Thursday called upon the main Opposition UNP not to fish in troubled waters and refrain from attempting to gain petty political mileage from Wednesday's disaster at Meeriyabedde in Koslanda.

Chief Government Whip and Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told the House that when the entire nation was shocked by this tragedy, it is deplorable that the UNP tries to take political advantage from it.

Although Minister Gunawardena made a detailed statement in Parliament on the Government's initiative to provide immediate relief to the affected people, Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga who spoke after the Minister made a futile attempt to blame the Government over this natural calamity. This led to Government members shout at Amaratunga and expressed their displeasure over his remarks. Minister Gunawardena who condemned MP Amaratunga's statement asked the Opposition not to descend to such degrading level to capitalise on this disaster. Minister Gunawardena said that he was saddened by the Chief Opposition Whip's allegations. The Minister who spoke in an aggressive manner told MP Amaratunga, "Shame on you for trying to capitalise on the misery of the people affected by the disaster."

MP Amaratunga, however, denied taking political advantage from the situation. He questioned as to why the Government did not take any action despite being aware that a disaster would occur? He said that the Government could make excuses but it should accept responsibility for its failure to save the lives of the Koslanda disaster victims. Minister Gunawardena said many people who perished in the landslide had continued to live in the landslide-prone area despite repeated warnings to evacuate to safer locations.

The area where the disaster occurred had been identified as a landslide-prone area as far back as 2005, he said.

Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe responding to a statement by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday said that the National Building Research Organisation had been instructed to identify areas not threatened by landslides so that people could construct houses in such locations. Technology and Research Minister Champika Ranawaka said that the Koslanda tragedy cannot be considered an isolated incident. It is a severe warning on another massive environmental catastrophe.

The Minister said had the victims been evacuated and resettled in safer locations this catastrophe could have been averted. Although the Opposition had made a big hue and cry at the Party Leaders' meeting to increase the number of days for the Budget debate, the lackadaisical attitude of the Opposition members during the Second Reading was manifest. Even if the Government had increased the number of days, the inadequate participation of the Opposition members was a common phenomenon during the debate. That the budget debate had to be adjourned on Wednesday was a clear testimony to endorse this fact. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa told the House that skipping Parliamentary sessions had become a habit for some MPs, when there were no MPs on Monday to raise the questions listed in the Order Paper and there were no Ministers to reply. Of the 14 MPs listed to raise questions, only two UNP MPs, Sajith Premadasa and Niroshan Perera were present in the Chamber. There were no Ministers to answer the questions.

MP Premadasa said that this is a world record as there are no Ministers to answer questions raised by MPs. Minister Dinesh Gunawardena asked what was the world record? Is it the absence of MPs? The Opposition Leader who responded said UNP MPs could not come to Parliament as they had received summons from court to be present. UPFA parliamentarian A.H.M. Azwer stressed the importance of MPs' presence in Parliament. He said there are only two MPs on the Opposition side. The Speaker said that the Government and the Opposition members were alike as they skip parliamentary sessions. He said there are no MPs to raise questions and no Ministers to answer. The Chief Opposition Whip said the Chair has been informed of the inability of some MPs to be present as they had to go to courts. The Speaker said that he was aware of it, but both sides should ensure that MPs are present in the House.

Premier D.M. Jayaratne who participated in the Second Reading of the budget on Wednesday said that there was not a single UNP MP in the House. Therefore, he proposed that Parliament should meet once in three months so that the MPs could find time to attend parliamentary sessions. Expressing his displeasure over the absence of Opposition MPs, the Premier said that the budget debate is not only for the Government and it is important to the Opposition as well. The Government and the Opposition should serve the people in the country. When budget proposals providing relief to people are being debated in Parliament, the Opposition should ensure their active participation in the debates. The Premier said without doing so, there is no point in going on public platforms and television channels and criticising the government. It is the prime responsibility of MPs to attend Parliament when the House meets. He said that millions of rupees are spent on a single sitting day of Parliament. If the Opposition is not inclined to use this opportunity, we should reduce the number of sitting days and cut down waste of public funds.

Instead of making any constructive criticism on the Budget, most Opposition MPs who joined in the second reading of the Budget debate resorted to mud slinging at the Government. UNP parliamentarian Kabir Hashim vehemently criticised the Government and described the Budget 2015 as a political manifesto which targeted a snap election.

The Minister said Budget 2015 has fulfilled the dream of a welfare state. We should thank President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Finance Ministry officials for presenting a people-friendly budget amidst various challenges. He said Budget 2015 is a clear reflection of a ten-year development drive launched by the Government passing its dividends to the people. Minister Siyambalapitiya who countered most of the allegations levelled by the UNP MPs reminded the House of the initiatives taken by former UNP Government to curtail the public sector and even the Samurdhi subsidy under their "Regaining Sri Lanka" program.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa visited the Press Room of Parliament on Monday to inquire into complaints of inconvenience the journalists suffered during the presentation of Budget by President Rajapaksa last Friday due to the inordinate delay on the part of some Finance and Planning Ministry officials and Parliament staff to provide them fax facilities. The Speaker was accompanied by Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody, UPFA MP A.H.M. Azwer and Sergeant-at-Arms Anil Parakrama Samarasekera. After a brief discussion with the office-bearers of the Sri Lanka Parliamentary Journalists' Association, the Speaker ordered the Parliament staff to provide the Press Room with new fax machines on the same day. The Speaker visited the Press Room after MP Azwer had brought the issue to the Speaker's notice on Monday morning.