House turns unruly

Rajmi Manatunga and Rashomi Silva

KOTTE: Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara last morning suspended sittings for 10 minutes amidst an uproar caused by a dispute over a standing order.

The dispute arose around 10.30 a.m. yesterday when Chief Opposition Whip Joseph Michael Perera rose to make a special statement on behalf of Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Chief Government Whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said Perera had no authority to make a statement on behalf of the UNP leader as Wickremesinghe was present in Parliament at the commencement of proceedings.

"If the Chief Opposition Whip is allowed to make a statement on behalf of his leader, we request that all the other 225 members, if authorised by their party leaders, be permitted to make statements, he said.

An authorised MP can make statements only if his leader is out of the country or indisposed to come to the proceedings, Fernandopulle said.

The Chief Government Whip was supported by the JVP. While the heated verbal exchange continued, the Opposition Leader who was not present in the House made a dramatic entry to the chamber and said he had given former Speaker Joseph Michael Perera written authority to represent the party leadership.

While the House was listening in pin-drop silence, Wickremesinghe said that during the UNP administration, permission was granted to both the Opposition Leader and the Chief Opposition Whip to make statements on behalf of the party.

"I was leaving Parliament when I came to know of the Commotion.

I came back to tell that I have authorised the Chief Opposition Whip to make statements on my behalf," he said. Having said that, the Opposition Leader left the Chamber while House resumed its business. The Speaker endorsed the view of the Opposition Leader and asked Perera to continue his statement.

His speech was distributed by Government and JVP MPs and the argument took a heated turn when Perera made a remark on JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe.

All JVP members who were present in the House rose to their feet and made objections to the remark on their leader. The UNP MPs came to the assistance of their Chief Whip while heated cross talk ensued.