UPFA has more MPs – Dinesh
The Speaker accepted that when the JVP and TNA members are taken out, the UPFA has more MPs in Parliament. Five MPs crossed over to the UPFA camp and three went to the UNP, but the UPFA has more MPs, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said.
He was addressing a media conference in Parliament yesterday. He said the Speaker did not attend the parliamentary session yesterday to endorse this matter. “He simply avoided it and sent his deputy just to read a note and adjourn Parliament,” he said, “This is the true situation, but as the government, we will carry on with our duties, no matter what,” he said.
After the party leaders’ meeting with the Speaker Karunaratne Jayasuriya (which is the Speaker’s full name as referred to by Dinesh Gunawardena), Gunawardena said that after a long discussion, the opposition wanted to move another resolution limiting the powers of the Finance Minister’s expenditure and the resolution to be tabled before Parliament.
“The opposition accepted that there is a finance Minister who is seated on this side - the Prime Minister. So, what are they trying to do? Limit the expenditure and deprive the public servants of their salary, deny over 500,000 pensioners of their pension and other essential public expenditure due by the end of the month? This motion has been handed over according to the standing orders. This is what the government has been striving to place before the speaker that he has to act according to the standing orders. Now they accepted that this can be taken up after five days. The motion will be handed over as they have done today, similar to the behavioural aspect of handing over motions, they had jotted down something and brought in to hand it over.
Now according to them, they are writing it down to be handed over to the Secretary General. When he accepts it, he will have to check if it is in accordance with the Constitution and sent to be placed in the order book which will be taken up after five days. November 29 has been proposed for this.”
Gunawardena explained what took place in Parliament yesterday and said the Deputy Speaker came in, took the chair and read a message that the selection Committee sent according to the standing orders adjourned Parliament. It is clear that they have come back to accept the standing orders. “This is the position that we took and we wanted the international community to know that we have standing orders of Parliament which we all have to abide by. We informed the Speaker yesterday that he has no power to appoint or dismiss a Prime Minister and that the sole power to do that rests with the President.
No matter how ever much he allows ad hoc resolutions to be adopted, it has no value. So, we are urging the Speaker to abide by the Constitution and the standing orders and recognise the government to conduct business of the house.
We will move forward on that basis. It is sad to note that the Speaker was available in his room, but did not sit in Parliament as he could not face its members.
The parliamentarians stood against the irregular and unlawful way the Speaker was behaving,” he said. “So, the Speaker could not face them,” he said.
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Speaker ignored President’s orders - Wimal
The UPFA government members accused Speaker Karu Jayasuriya of challenging the orders of the President and creating a clash between the Executive and the Legislative.
They were addressing a press conference at the committee room 4 of the parliament complex.
Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the Speaker’s aim is to plunge Parliament into chaos through his defiance and create a situation where foreign forces could intervene.
“By now the country knows that the Supreme Court issued a stay order on the gazette notification by the President to dissolve Parliament and hold a general election.
“Against this background, the question has arisen whether it is legal to conduct parliamentary sessions. A citizen has taken the matter to court, to determine if Parliament could carry on with its activities when there is a stay order. It is under this a situation, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya convened Parliament without a proper agenda violating the Constitution and is adamant that he will not accept the Prime Minister and the government appointed by the President and has plunged Parliament into a conflict. We stress that the first respondent in the crime of putting Parliament into disarray and complexity is none other than Speaker Karu Jayasuriya,” he said.
Weerawansa accused the Speaker of acting as a tool for Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Western countries that no other Speaker has ever behaved in the country’s history. “Because of his shameful actions, the people were unfortunate to witness the drama that took place in Parliament over the past few days. Ranil Wickremesinge is holding onto Temple Trees and the Speaker is holding onto Parliament and trying to manipulate the situation to fulfill their sinister motives. In the history of Parliament, there have been governments with majority and those without. When the Executive, the President, appoints a Prime Minister, the Speaker has no authority to oppose that decision. This Speaker is trying to challenge the orders of the President and is trying to create a clash between the Executive and the Legislature,” he said. They are trying to override the Executive and pave the way for international forces to interfere in the internal matters of this country.
He said that is why they constantly have to display their objection and resentment of such actions by the Speaker. He said that if the UNF is refusing to accept the government, then there cannot be an opposition, not Parliament. “The Secretary of Parliament is a government servant and the other parliamentary staffs are State employees. They do not have the legal right to follow the orders given by the Speaker. As State employees, they are legally bound to adhere to the Constitution and the standing orders of Parliament. We earnestly request them not to comply with the unlawful orders and instructions of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker,” he said. Due to the greed for power, the UNF is trying to use every possibility to cling onto power, he said..
“The UNP claims to stop funding for the Prime Minister to run the country, but no one has the authority to stop it and the President has several other means to obtain funds if required,” he said.
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Speaker’s biased conduct will be brought before IPU, CPU - SB
“The UPFA will complain to the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union (CPU) about the recent biased conduct of the Speaker,” Minister S.B. Dissanayake said at a press briefing yesterday
“From the time that President Maithripala Sirisena appointed the Prime Minister, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya acted illegally and unconstitutionally.
He does not have the power to endorse any no confidence motion or any such, the Minister said.
He said the Speaker can choose to cooperate with the President and the Prime Minister and work for the betterment of the country. If not, they would let the Speaker to do whatever he wants, and they would carry on with the government under the new Prime Minister.
Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said the UNP has notified that they would enter the field to bat their second innings on November 23.
He said that at a time when the country was in turmoil over the past few weeks, the media acted impartially in reporting the recent incidents and the government appreciated them. “The core of this whole issue is the 19th Amendment brought about on vengeance. The main persons who were instrumental in drafting the 19th Amendment are TNA-MP Sumanthiran and Jayampathy Wickramaratne. They are behind the UNP, and they have two main intentions. One was to remove the Rajapaksas from politics and the other was to see how the powers of the Executive Presidency could be handed over to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.”
He said that what the people are experiencing today is the cracks and crevices of the 19th Amendment.
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Monetary powers of PM’s Office Secretary will be challenged - Rajitha
UNP MP Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said the UNF and all others who voted in favour of the No Confidence Motion against Mahinda Rajapaksa had submitted a draft motion challenging the monetary powers of the Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office. It will be taken up in Parliament for debate on November 29, Senaratne said.
TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said they have made this decision as a token of power that Parliament can exercise when a group claiming to be the government does not have a majority in the House and refuses to bow to vote of no confidence passed, not just once but three times in three days last week.
“We have presented a motion from the group of 122 to stop the authorization to withdraw money to the Secretary to the PM since Parliament has total control over public finance under Article 208 and Article 48 of the Constitution, Parliament has approved a No Confidence Motion by operation of law the Cabinet stands dissolved. In view of that fact, we have given notice of this motion only to the Secretary to the PM. We have not taken step to lock other ministries,” Sumanthiran said.
Senaratne said the UNF, TNA, and JVP at Party Leaders’ meeting offered “vote by name” and “electronic vote” to the UPFA group to show the majority in line with the proposal of President Maithripala Sirisena at the APC, but the UPFA turned down the proposal.
He said the UNF, who commands the majority in Parliament, will continue their struggle for democracy. Senaratne expressed his dissatisfaction towards the responsible parties who are ignoring the majority in the House and not trying to find a solution.
Senaratne and Sumanthiran were speaking at a press briefing in Parliament premises soon after yesterday’s Parliamentary session without any major incident.
Sajith Premadasa, Rauff Hakeem and M.A. Sumanthiran addressed media at the press.
Sajith Premadasa speaking to media said that most of the politicians who are in this power struggle have forgotten the average citizen and the repercussions that they have to undergo due to this crisis situation.
“They will continue this drama in the next coming weeks. One should give a higher award such as Emmy or Oskar to those acting in this drama. While these politicians are in a power struggle, what would happen to the general public, the ordinary citizen, the poor, to the one in hunger? What would happen to projects such as Enterprise Sri Lanka and Gamperaliya? No one seems to be interested in these questions.” Premadasa said.
Premadasa said that this is not a time to entertain personal agendas. “This a trying situation where everybody needs to be selfless for the betterment of the country,” he said.
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JVP challenged UPFA to defeat motion seeking non-payments
The JVP yesterday challenged the UPFA to defeat the motion that seeks to prevent payments from being made by the Prime Minister’s Secretary when it is taken up for vote in Parliament on November 29.
JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was speaking at a press conference in a committee room in Parliament following the adjournment of the House.
He said a ‘vote by name’ would be requested for the motion. “We call on President Maithripala Sirisena and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to control their members in Parliament, so that we can go ahead with a vote by name. I bet some UPFA MPs will not turn up for this vote.
There is no Government or Opposition in Parliament now. There are only MPs who sit in either side. Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot use helicopters to come to Parliament and Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot occupy Temple Trees. Both are only MPs now,” he said. The JVP Leader yesterday raised concerns over the transfer of IP Nishantha Silva from the CID and said it was an attempt to stifle vital criminal investigations on assaults, murder and abduction of journalists and 11 children. The motive behind the “illegal capture” of ruling power was to stall the on-going investigations into them, he said.
Anura Kumara condemned the attack on police personnel who entered the chamber on the orders of the Speaker with chili powder mixed water on Friday.
JVP MP Vijitha Herath said he would produce his shirt stained with chili mixed water as evidence when an investigation commenced on the incident.
The JVP leader said Parliament has the powers over public expenditure as per the Section 148 of the Constitution and under those powers, the funds allocated by the Budget could be controlled by Parliament. “It is under those powers we demand that funds for the PM’s office should be cut off,” he said.
JVP MPs Bimal Ratnayake, Nihal Galappaththi, Sunil Handunnetti and Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa were present.
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