9 March 2017 11:29 pm
Holding a news conference in a vehicle park outside the entrance to Parliament, since they were not permitted to hold the news conference inside Parliament, MP Alahapperuma said the government and the Speaker had robbed the joint opposition of all its rights.
“Though the Speaker’s decision is final, it has not been mentioned anywhere that his decision is always accurate. Today, we have been stripped from our right to hold news briefings inside Parliament. The Government and the Speaker, on behalf of the government, is attempting to suppress the voice of the joint opposition,” he said.
He said their group, which consists of 51 MPs, was the second largest faction in Parliament after the United National Party and MP Gunawardane was the group's nominee to attend the party leaders' meetings, Parliament committee meetings and to make statements on behalf of them.
“Therefore, the suspension of our leader for a week should not be taken lightly. All the powers enjoyed by us have been stripped away by the Speaker within a matter of minutes. This is an effort to suppress the people’s rights,” he said.
He said Mr. Gunawardane was scheduled to speak about the SAITM issue and the Indian fishermen issue in Parliament today.
“The suspension has resulted in these issues not being discussed. The Opposition Leader doesn’t speak about the main issues faced by the country. We are the ones that highlight these issues and fight on behalf of the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena said none of their MPs had entered Parliament through the National List and it was disappointing to witness the suspension of the leader of such a dynamic group.
MPs Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Dilum Amunugama, Keheliya Rambukwella, Vidura Wickramanayake, Prasanna Ranatunga, Sisira Jayakody, Niroshan Premaratne, Indika Anurudda, Johnston Fernando and many others attended the news briefing. (Lahiru Pothmulla)