OMP Bill duly passed and legally valid – Speaker

By Uditha Kumarasinghe and Manjula Fernando

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) Bill has been duly passed as it was in order and was legally valid.

It is the Joint Opposition’s (JO) contention that the OMP Bill was not properly passed in Parliament.

“I take the legal stand that due procedure that has been laid down was followed,” Speaker Karu jayasuriya told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

The Speaker said “The JO’s argument is only a matter of opinion which I respect. As far as I am concerned, I have corroborated with the legal experts who have assured me that the correct procedure was followed.” If the JO alleges that the OMP Bill was passed in Parliament violating parliamentary rules and procedure, they have also violated the Standing Orders by venturing into well of the House singing and disturbing the Speaker and the proceedings, when the Bill was presented, he further said.

The Government in consultation with party leaders decided to take up the OMP Bill as an urgent Bill on August 11, with the consent of 174 members in Parliament. Only 51 members in the JO did not support the Bill. The Speaker said, according to the majority view, the Bill was taken up for debate and passed in Parliament.