Don’t release PSC report prior to NCM

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday urged the government not to release an interim report of the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) appointed to probe the Easter Sunday attacks before the no-confidence motion against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen is debated.

He said the NCM and the probe on Easter Sunday attacks should be considered as two separate matters and accused the government of attempting to take political advantage hiding behind the PSC.

"Dates are fixed for the NCM against Minister Bathiudeen. PSC was appointed before the NCM was handed over," Mr. Dissanayake said.

He said they accepted the need for a PSC to ascertain who was at fault for not acting on intelligence information on the bomb explosions and added that the failure of the political leadership and the security mechanism should be investigated by the PSC.

Mr. Dissanayake said political authority including the President, the Prime Minister, parliamentarians and governors should be summoned before the PSC and that the composition of the PSC should be changed and added that the opposition should be given more participation in the PSC as the investigation is being conducted against the government.

"The PSC is probing the failure of the government. It is not reasonable to allocate more members of the government. The opposition should be allocated more slots or a similar number of members," he said. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)