Journos further barred from covering parliamentary proceedings

• The committee stage debate on the budget got underway yesterday, without lobby reporters in the gallery
• We requested the Speaker and Serjeant-at-arms to allow the lobby reporters to come in but both of them turned the request down

By Yohan Perera   

Lobby correspondents will not be allowed to come into Parliament for some more time until the risk of COVID-19 passes, Serjeant-at-arms Narendra Fernando said yesterday. 

   Mr. Fernando told Daily Mirror that the matter was raised by Opposition MPs at yesterday’s party leaders’ meeting.   

“Opposition MPs raised the issues pertaining to lobby reporters but we informed them that it was not possible to let them come in as of now,” he said.   

Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella and SJB MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said they requested that journalists be allowed to come and report proceedings but it was turned down. “We requested the Speaker and Serjeant-at-arms to allow the lobby reporters to come in but both of them turned the request down,” Mr. Madduma Bandara said.   

This is the first time in the recent history of Sri Lankan Parliament that journalists were not allowed to come in and cover the budget and the debates. The committee stage debate on the budget got underway yesterday, without lobby reporters in the gallery.