Joint Opposition decries COPE and PAC slots

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

A grave injustice is being perpetrated on the Joint Opposition when members are appointed to two Parliament Oversight Committees, the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), UPFA Matara District parliamentarian Dullas Alahapperuma told Parliament yesterday.

Speaking during the Budget debate, MP Alahapperuma said the joint opposition which has 50 MPs had been given only two slots in COPE and the PAC. He said there are 24 members in each committee. However, the TNA which has only 16 MPs in Parliament has been allocated five slots while the JVP which has six MPs has received four slots . “Hence, the privileges of these 50 MPs in the Joint Opposition have been ignored,” he added.

The MP said they had conveyed this to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala. They had also discussed the issue with President Maithripala Sirisena.

“We want more representation in these two Parliament Oversight Committees based on the composition of MPs in the Joint Opposition”, he said.

JVP parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti was appointed Chairman of COPE while UPFA MP and Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna was appointed Chairman of the PAC when the two Committees held their inaugural meeting a few days ago.

MP Alahapperuma said that they had no objection to the appointment of MPs Hadunnetti and Alagiyawanna to head COPE and the PAC, but added that more members from the Joint Opposition should be appointed.

The MP stressed the importance of providing a fair opportunity to parliamentarians to these two committees. “If our concerns are not addressed, we would not be able to support the Budget as anticipated by the President. He queried as to why the government feared the Joint Opposition.”