Opposition considers international appeal
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The SJB yesterday (11) acknowledged that the no-confidence motion against Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, handed over to Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera and included in the Order Book on October 12, was no longer in the parliamentary process, following its rejection by the Speaker himself.
SJB MP Ajith P. Perera said that the Opposition would have to bring in a new no-confidence motion. However, at the moment, the SJB was contemplating the possibility of complaining to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association (CPA), Perera said. The IPU and the CPA couldn’t swiftly respond to the situation created by Speaker Wickramaratne, he added.
The NPP government had succeeded in stifling the no-confidence motion against Speaker Wickramaratne, political sources said, noting that the Opposition’s efforts to pursue the matter, both inside and outside Parliament, were unlikely to receive the attention they deserved with the presentation of the Budget scheduled for Thursday (12).
The Budget debate is scheduled to run for 26 days, from November 13 to December 14, further pushing the motion into the background.
MP Perera indicated that the original no-confidence motion against the Speaker had been effectively discarded through illegal means. The former UNPer said that it was an unfortunate situation as the Speaker himself was allowed to discard the no-faith motion that dealt with a series of allegations against him, including some on corruption.
