Commotion in Parliament after question over attack on Dalada Maligawa in 1989

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana 

Colombo, July 23 (Daily Mirror) - Heated arguments rocked Parliament when Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Rohini Kaviratne raised a question on the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) attack on the Dalada Maligawa  in 1989 and Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake called the MP a daughter of a murderer.

The initial argument popped up between Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne and MP Kaviratne. 

The Speaker requested the MP to be brief on the question and the former asked him to shut up. 

"You better shut up as I am coming to my question," MP Kaviratne said. 

"To whom are you talking to? This is not the way to raise a question," Speaker responded.

Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe who joined in the crosstalk asked MP Kaviratne to withdraw her statement. 

The House became tensed when the Leader of the House   stood up. 

"Many skeletons have been found from the mass grave in Matale. We have the daughter of a murderer standing before us now," he said. 

The Opposition members who were provoked at this point started shouting at Minister Rathnayake accusing him of violating standing orders.

MP Rathnayake then said it is common knowledge that the Ministers and MPs of the UNP government in 1989 ran torture chambers. 

"We will file legal action against all of them who ran torture chambers and arrest them," Rathnayake said.