No compromise: Session turns stormy, House adjourned till June 9
 Despite a special Parliament session being convened on Wednesday,June
3 to approve the names of three civil society members
(non-parliamentarians) to the Constitutional Council, the setting up of
the much-awaited legislative body was further delayed as the session
turned stormy when several Opposition members expressed concern on the
ad-hoc manner followed to nominate members without consulting the Party
Leaders. Some UPFA parliamentarians also expressed opposition to
appointing a Minister to the 10-member Council and alleged that the due
procedure laid down by the 19th Amendment for these appointments had not
been followed.
Top priority
In order to complete the 10-member composition of the Council,
Parliament has to approve the names of three non-parliamentarians,
former UN Under-Secretary General Radhika Coomaraswamy, Sarvodaya
founder Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne and former Appeal Court Judge A.W.A. Salam.
Although the Speaker suspended the sittings temporarily to take a
final decision, he had to adjourn the House until June 9 as the Party
Leaders failed to reach a compromise on the three nominees. Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe prior to adjourning the House informed his
decision to obtain the written consent from members and move the motion
for the next sitting day.
Although seeking parliamentary approval for the three civil society
members was the top priority in the day’s agenda, the business of the
House was dragged in a different direction by the UPFA’s pro-Mahinda
Rajapaksa faction when they attempted to enact a drama on the floor of
the House regarding the controversial Central Bank bond issue. UPFA
parliamentarian Dinesh Gunawardena told the House that it was
regrettable that no effective action had been taken either by the
Government or by this House for more than three months to deal with what
he called “one of the most colossal frauds perpetrated on the people and
the economy of our country”.
Hue and cry
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who gave a detailed answer to MP
Gunawardena’s statement said that the present Central Bank Governor
Arjuna Mahendran had to leave the country due to the fear psychosis
created by the Rajapaksa regime. The Premier responding to a query on
Mahendran’s citizenship told the House that when one is granted
citizenship in any country, one has to take an oath of allegiance to
that country. Citing an example, the Premier said the how former Defence
Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had also taken the oath of allegiance to
the American Government as an American citizen.
The Prime Minister said that it would have been fair if the UPFA
members had raised the same question when the country’s defence was
entrusted to an American citizen by the former government.
In addition, these same people didn’t utter even a single word when
an Australian citizen was appointed Foreign Ministry Secretary. Now a
section of the UPFA members is making a big hue and cry over the
citizenship of Arjuna Mahendran, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said. The
sort of ‘dialogue’ between the Premier and MP Dinesh Gunawardena
eventually ended up with nostalgic memories of their Royal College days
when the MP recalled how he read the novel Sunethra with Wickremesinghe
in the same class. Gunawardena told the House in lighter vein that
Wickremesinghe played the role of a “disguised prince” instead of the
“disguised princess” in Sunethra.
The Premier responding to his one time class-mate said that he read
“Avichara Samaya” at the College. The Premier also told the House that
the issue was about “a woodpecker that pecked a lamp post and got
electrocuted”. MP Gunawardena said he would not talk of the woodpecker
the Premier spoke of and remarked that the Premier pecked on the last
tree.
Uproar in House
When Opposition members interrupted the Premier’s speech it led to an
uproar in the House. Amidst the tense situation, Leader of the House and
Plantation Industries Minister Lakshman Kiriella posed a challenge to
the Opposition to move a motion calling to dissolve Parliament.
All Government legislators stood up in favour of his call. Later UPFA
MPs who are ardent supporters of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa also
rose to their feet. Subsequently, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa endorsing the
point raised by parliamentarians also proposed to dissolve Parliament.
The joint Opposition at a media briefing held at the Parliamentary
complex soon after adjournment told journalists that there was no need
to appoint the Constitutional Council since a General Election is due in
the near future.
They said that they would hand over the No-Confidence Motion against
the Prime Minister, expressing confidence that they would be able to
collect more than 113 signatures. The Pro-Mahinda Rajapaksa UPFA faction
was of the view that a new Parliament should be given the opportunity to
appoint the members of the Constitutional Council. UPFA parliamentarian
Dullas Alahapperuma urged President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint an
SLFP or UPFA member as the Prime Minister and accomplish the “historic
task” of passing the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. |
