MPs phoning govt. officials, a natural phenomenon

• It is natural for MPs to talk to government officers

By Yohan Perera   

MPs talking to government officials over the phone is a natural phenomenon but one cannot approve the action taken by MP Ranjan Ramanayake to record the conversations, UNP MP Mujibur Rahuman said yesterday.    

Mr Rahuman said this at a press conference when journalists questioned him  whether the UNP approves the actions of Mr Ramanayake.   

“It is natural for MPs to talk to government officers. Sometimes government officers talk to MPs over the phone. However one cannot approve the action of Mr Ramanayake to record these phone conversations,” Mr Rahuman said.   

He said it is also important to probe as to how the CDs which were handed over to the police by a three-wheeler driver went into the hands of media and to SLPP members of Parliament.   Also Mr Rahuman alleged that the government is going back on its word of refraining from appointing its relatives to government posts. He charged that two relatives of the Rajapaksa family have been appointed as Directors of Civil Aviation Authority.   

The UNP MP said the increments, overtime and the festival advances which are usually given to public servants have been slashed by the present government. “Some benefits which were given to public servants by our government has also been removed by the new government,” he said.