Leader of National People’s Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP Duminda Dissanayake too have stepped down from the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

The two Dissanayakes today (March 20) joined a parade of MPs to quit the COPE over the appointment of SLPP MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena as its chairman.

Communicating his resignation to Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena in writing, the SLFP MP said he decided to quit the COPE membership as the committee no longer has the transparency counted on by the members of the public.

At the first COPE meeting of the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament convened on March 07, Abeygunawardena was elected by majority votes to serve as the new chairman of the committee. His name had been nominated by MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage and seconded by MP Sanjeewa Edirimanna.

In protest of the appointment, as many as 10 new COPE members including Eran Wickramaratne, Gamini Waleboda, Prof. Charitha Herath, Dayasiri Jayasekara, S. M. Marikkar, Hesha Withanage, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and Wasantha Yapa Bandara have thus far stepped down from the committee.

Wasantha Yapa Bandara’s name was announced as a COPE member shortly after the parliamentary session commenced this morning, however, the MP declared his resignation with immediate effect.