Chaos reigned in the well of the House and sittings abruptly suspended thrice on Wednesday (March 8) when Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ordered to remove Joint Opposition (JO) Leader Dinesh Gunawardena from the Chamber for unruly behaviour. Following, the Speaker’s announcement in turning down National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa’s request to accept his party as an independent group in Parliament, MP Gunawardena enacted a “drama” in the House, defending the NFF Leader. The continuous interruptions by the MP was finally put to an end when his Parliamentary sittings were suspended for one week as his conduct was against the dignity and decorum of the House.
Following the Speaker’s ruling, NFF leader Weerawansa raising a point of order said, he needs to explain his position on the issue. However, the Speaker told the MP that he has given his ruling and that is it, and there is no need for debates. Leader of the House and Higher Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella said the Speaker has given the ruling so that they have to abide by it. MP Weerawansa alleged, the Speaker is swayed by party agendas. MP Gunawardena said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe too had expressed his consent to accept the NFF as a separate party in the Opposition. However, the Premier responding to MP Gunawardena said, he didn’t say that ‘we would accept the NFF as a separate group, but as a group of independent MPs’. The Premier made the point that if the NFF MPs want to act as a group of independent MPs, they should move it by a substantive motion.
Parliamentary proceedings
However, MP Gunawardena was seen continuously disrupting Parliamentary proceedings challenging the ruling given by the Speaker. He requested the Speaker to permit Wimal Weerawansa to speak on the issue. This unparliamentary behaviour of the MP compelled Speaker Jayasuriya to order the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove him from the Chamber as he repeatedly disturbed proceedings in Parliament. All JO MPs in the Chamber were seen forming a circle around MP Gunawardena. However, the MP resisted the Speaker’s order and remained in the House permitting the Police into the Chamber. Parliament was adjourned for the third time after the Speaker ordered the MP to be removed.
When the sittings commenced, the Speaker announcing his ruling over NFF Leader Weerwansa’s request to accept his party as a separate group, said that only six parties, UNP, UPFA, JVP, ITAK, EPDP and SLMC have been recognised by Parliament. But, the JO front liner Gunawardena who was thoroughly unsatisfied with the Speaker’s decision continued his verbal blow interrupting the proceedings of the House. The Speaker at several instances requested both, the Government and the Opposition legislators to extend their support to conduct the Parliamentary session. The Speaker said the vociferous MP Gunawardena, a senior Parliamentarian should set an example himself and added that his conduct is disgraceful.
Despite the repeated calls by the Speaker to MP Gunawardena not interrupt proceedings of the House, the MP continued his agitation demanding to allow MP Weerawansa to speak. The Speaker recalled how MP Gunawardena, the then Chief Government Whip didn’t allow him even to stand up to move the Right to Information Bill as an Opposition MP although now he makes a big hue and cry on the rights of MPs.
Amid the pandemonium in the House, Leader of the House and Higher Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella moved a motion demanding the suspension of MP Gunawardena, and a vote was taken. However, the decision to suspend MP Gunawardena’s Parliament sittings was taken after much uproar in the House. Moving the motion Minister Kiriella said that MP Gunawardena kept disturbing Parliamentary sittings despite repeated warnings by the Chair and therefore, he should be suspended for a week from attending Parliament. However, the Joint Opposition MPs demanded a division by name on the motion. Accordingly, a vote was taken and 85 MPs voted for and 22 against. The JVP abstained from voting while 114 MPs were absent. The TNA and the UPFA MPs in the Government ranks also voted with the Government.
On the following day, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya turned down a request by the JO to appoint UPFA Matara District MP Dullas Alahapperuma as its acting group leader in the absence of MP Dinesh Guanwardena who was suspended from Parliament for a week. Speaker Jayasuriya told the House that he had received a letter signed by JO MPs asking to appoint MP Alahapperuma as their acting leader. The Speaker maintained the position that he will have to consult the opinion of UPFA Parliamentary Group Leader and Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva as the appointment of an Acting Leader for the JO does not fall within his purview. The Speaker who contacted Minister de Silva over the phone, later told the House that the UPFA Group Leader had not given his consent to appoint MP Alahapperuma as acting JO Leader..
Premier Wickremesinghe who also joined the conversation said, only the Party Leaders have been permitted to make special statements in the House and nobody else. The Premier said, recognizing Alahapperuma as their Group Leader is a matter that the JO MPs should resolve with their Party Leader, President Maithripala Sirisena who is also the leader of the UPFA. He asked the JO members as to why they are in such a hurry to remove MP Gunawardena from their midst? Minister Lakshman Kiriella said the JO is trying to get rid of Gunawardena.
Yet another significant development was that Parliament sittings came to an abrupt end around 11.50 a.m.on Friday (March 10) when the Leader of the House Minister Lakshman Kiriella and Government MPs walked out of the Chamber protesting against what they called Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s failure to take action against JO MPs who disrupted proceedings. Reliable sources said it was the first time in the Sri Lankan Parliament’s history that Government members had boycotted sessions in protest against the Speaker.
Acting leader
The Leader of the House kept asking for time to speak on behalf of the Government, but the Chair did not give him the opportunity to speak so that the Leader of the House left the Chamber signalling his MPs to follow him. All Government MPs walked out while the JO MPs clapped and thumped their desks in glee. The Government members took exception to the Speaker allowing the JO MPs to speak on the issue of NFF MPs who are demanding permission to function as a separate group in Parliament and granting permission to JO MPs to appoint one of their colleagues as acting leader during the absence of MP Dinesh Guanwardena and allocating more time to the JO MPs in debates.
The issue of South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) once again turned into a hot topic on the floor of the House and both, Government and Opposition legislators expressed different opinions regarding the issue. Moving the motion for the debate, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the Government was trying its level best to protect SAITM. JVP Kalutara District MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said the JVP is against the privatization of education and health care and added that SAITM sought the permission of the Board of Investment to offer degrees in nursing and allied health sciences and that the Health Ministry has not given permission.
UPFA Galle District MP Dr. Ramesh Pathirana who seconded the motion said, “ we need doctors of high quality and at present, there is a huge concern for the standard of doctors graduating from Indian colleges and we should not come down to that level.” Social Empowerment Minister S.B. Dissanayake who maintained a pro-SAITM stance said SAITM has the approval of the Health Ministry and the UGC has also approved it. The Minister said at present most students do not wish to enter state universities due to ragging. Responding to the issue, Higher Education Minister Lakshman Kiriella said the judiciary has given a decision with regard to SAITM and there is no point in debating the issue here. The Minister said bankrupt politicians are using university students as their pawn.