The UPFA MPs said that they did not attend Parliamentary session yesterday “considering the illegal and undemocratic manner in which the proceedings are held.”
Speaking at a press brief at Parliament premises, UPFA MPs including Dinesh Gunawarena, Nimal Siripala De Silva, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Susil Premajayantha and Wimal Weerawansa made these observations yesterday morning.
Nimal Siripala de Silva speaking to the media said that the motion seeking to cut budgetary allocations to the Prime Minister’s Office is not legal.
“The motion given by UNF and JVP member is on the basis that there is no government. This matter is been adjudicated in the Court by a writ application by UNP MPs. Court will examine and give a decision whether the application can be sustained or not. Parliament has no power to debate a motion under adjudication,” de Silva said.
“This is an illegal act. We cannot participate in such an illegal session. This motion is not legal. This motion is against the Constitution, the Standing Orders and this is why we are not participating in the session. The Speaker is acting like a dictator. No Speaker in the world has acted stubbornly like Speaker Jayasuriya does. The Speaker is leaving a black mark on Sri Lanka’s history and parliament history. Usually before a motion is brought, it is brought before a Party Leader’s Meeting. It should be included in the Order Paper. None of this has happened,” de Silva observed.
Dinesh Gunawardena speaking at the press brief said; “We met the Speaker today as well and requested him to act according to the Constitution and the Standing Orders. There is a case filed before the Court with regards to this. The case is to be taken up on Friday. We are to present our case then. It is not correct to debate on a subject that is before the Court. We requested the Speaker to respect that. But he refused.”
Weerawansa speaking at the brief accused some UNF MPs for trying to impose pressure on crucial legal decisions to be taken with regards to the present crisis.
“The UNP are promoting fake democracy. We are ready to accept whatever the order given by the Supreme Court. We shall not allow this fake motion passed in the House by a UNP assembly.We urge the government servants not to be affected by these dramas. We request everyone to make this Maithri-Mahinda coalition a success.” Weerawansa further said.
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