Opposition to fight for Parliament Deputy Secretary General

By Yohan Perera 

Opposition is to fight for Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne, who was suspended from his post.  The opposition is of the opinion that the action taken against Mr Kularatne was unfair, as he was not given a chance to explain his side of the story. 

The situation was confirmed by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in his X message. 

“Audi alteram partem, “Hear the other side”. In any democracy, officials are given a hearing before they are punished. The Speaker interdicting the Deputy Secretary General without even giving a hearing sets a dangerous precedent and makes it feel very personal in nature. This is very concerning, and I will be strongly registering my protest in parliament on this issue,” Mr Premadasa said in his X message. Opposition members of Parliament are of the opinion that the Deputy General Secretary has been subjected to injustice. 

“A prominent person attached to Parliament has been up to mischief, and the Deputy General Secretary has witnessed this scene. He has been suspended with the suspicion that he has leaked the information to the media. We will take up the issue during the next session,” MP Dayasiri Jayasekara said, commenting on the matter. 

It was earlier reported that Mr Kularatne was suspended for alleged sexual harassment.