Govt. condemns Speaker’s statement

Foreign Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama says that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya issuing statements biased and advantageous to one party is unconstitutional and against convention.

Minster states that the Speaker does not have the right to decide who should be the Prime Minister.

He stated this attending a press conference being held currently in Colombo.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had released a statement this morning (05) stating that until the new faction is capable of showing the majority in parliament, he is compelled to accept the situation as it was before the change.

Stating that they condemn the statement issued by the Speaker, Dr. Amunugama states that this is a mere personal and political revenge of the Speaker. He further says that favoritism towards one party is unconstitutional and this behavior is not suitable for a Speaker of the Parliament.

For some issues actions should be taken according to the provisions under the constitution and the reason behind the reconvening of the prorogued parliament was to compile a budget proposal, states Amunugama.

This explains practicality behind the decision and the Speaker has no legal right to criticize the decision, he added.

Under the constitution, president has the power to prorogue the parliament up to 2 months and the parliament was prorogued in this situation to allocate time for Finance Minister to prepare the budget proposal, he said.
He further said the Speaker of the Parliament doesn’t have the power to even choose who occupies the Prime Minister’s seat in the parliament.

There is no legal ability to issue a statement stating a private discussion with the President, he added.

Meanwhile, joining the press conference, MP Thilanga Sumathipala stated that the Speaker released such a statement in order to create political crisis in the country.

The press conference was joined by Ministers Mahinda Samarasinghe, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe as well.