Speaker reprimands MPs for unruly behaviour

12 August 2016 10:48 pm

Both the Government and the Opposition should be ashamed of the events that took place in Parliament during the passing of the Office of Missing Persons Bill, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said today.

He expressed these views in Parliament by referring to a story reported by some media on the chaos that took place inside the chambers when the Bill was taken up for debate. The Speaker said according to some media reports, some of the MPs were having a sing song session inside Parliament.

He said MPs should do what they do inside the lavatory inside the lavatory and not in the dining room. "Wesikiliye karana de kema kamaraye karranna epa," the Speaker told MPs.

The Speaker, who responded to the charges made by opposition members, said he gave them the opportunity of speaking at Thursday's debate but no one was interested. "I gave the joint opposition members an opportunity to speak. But they were not willing to return to their seats and remained in the well of the house shouting themselves hoarse," he said."Politicians should be aggressive and become revolutionists. But there are places such as Lipton's Circus and Hyde Park for such activities. They have to be restrained and act with decorum when in Parliament." (YP)