17 November 2018 09:29 am
In a statement, Prime Minister's Secretary S. Amarasekara said the NCM should be first handed over to the speaker with at least 20 signatures.
“The second step is Speaker consulting Parliament General Secretary over the legality of the NCM. If the Secretary says it is legal, the NCM should be included in the Order Book. The book should be printed on a Friday and then should be distributed among all the MPs. After five working days, the NCM should be given the opportunity to taken up for a debate," Mr. Amarasekara said.
Afterwards, he said the Committee on Parliamentary Business headed by the Speaker should decide which task from the Order Book should be given the priority. “It is the Leader of House who decides the priority of the government's affairs," he said.
He said once the NCM was included in the Order Book, the nearest possible day to take it up for a debate should be decided with the consent of the Leader of House and the government.
"The next step is making an announcement saying the NCM would be taken up for a debate on a particular day. The Committee on Parliamentary Affairs should next decide on the time allocation for the Government and the Opposition MPs to debate the NCM. As the final steps, the NCM should be taken up for a debate on the fixed date and the results should be declared. At last, it should be included in the Hansard," Mr. Amarasekara said in the statement.
He also said all these steps should be conducted in a constitutional manner following the Standing Orders and parliamentary traditions. (Lahiru Pothmulla)