Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella accused the Speaker for engaging in politics and acting partially in favour of the government and handing over the public finance committee Chairmanship to a government MP.
“You are occupying the seat of the Speaker and engaging in politics. You are the one who created all the problems in this country,” Kiriella told the Speaker.
Kiriella said that Standing Order 121/1 clearly states that the Chairman of the Public Finance Committee should be a Member of the Opposition, but the Speaker suspended the Standing Orders and transferred the post to the Government.
“Therefore, now rectify this as you have committed a grave wrong,” Kiriella said.
However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena refuted these allegations and said, “This is not something that I did. It is a decision taken by you in the House. Do not blame me for that.”
Kiriella said, “You secretly put it through when not many of us were in Parliament.”
But, the Speaker said that he was not in a position to know when Members were more or less in Parliament and urged Kiriella not to sling such allegations against him.
But Kiriella continued to accuse the Speaker of engaging in politics and being partial towards the government. “You should not engage in politics as the Speaker, but you connived with other officials and gave the post to a government MP. You have destroyed parliament. It is shameful. “We wanted to propose Harsha de Silva as he is an economist. But you played an underhand game with the officials.”
MP Harsha de Silva said that his name has been proposed for the position and at a time when the country is facing a crisis, he urged the Speaker to allow them to help the country.
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