New Deputy Chairman of Committees

Pramod de Silva and Manjula Fernando

KOTTE: UPFA MP Piyasiri Wijenayake was yesterday named the new Deputy Chairman of Committees in Parliament. Minister Susil Premajayantha told the House that this would be a temporary appointment as the Government has taken a decision to nominate and appoint UPFA MP Ramalingam Chandrasekaran, who is now in China on an official visit. The post fell vacant following the resignation of Badulla District MP M. Sachithananda.

However, Wijenayake's appointment came after three Party Leaders meetings and much debate on whether it would be possible to appoint Chandrasekaran in his absence by staying Standing Orders. The UNP opposed such a move.

Following the first Party Leaders meeting the Speaker conveyed to the House that the appointment of the new Deputy Chairman would be postponed to next week.

Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle opposed this, referring to the Article 64 of the Constitution where it has been stated that the appointment should be made at the first sitting of Parliament after the vacancy. The Speaker pointed out that they could explore substitute proposals, stressing there was a tradition in Parliament to award the two second top posts to a member from the minorities.

JHU Parliamentarian Athuraliye Rathana Thera and UNP speculated nominee for the post Mano Wijeratne said there was no rule to award the post to a minority member but they will not oppose such an appointment if there was a suitable candidate among the minority counterparts.

MP Wimal Weerawansa said there was an agreement between the PA and the JVP to appoint JVP Parliamentarian Chandrasekeran to the post.

The issue which arose at the first Party Leaders meeting was whether it was in accordance with the constitution to do so in his absence.

MP Chandrasekaran is in China along with a few other JVP Parliamentarians on an official invitation of the Chinese Government.

Minister Fernandopulle said they could not act against the constitution but it was possible to stay the Standing Order which prevents the appointment of the Deputy Chairman of Committees in his absence.

Chief Opposition Whip Joseph Michael Perera proposed they should go for another Party Leaders meeting to resolve the issue. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed the same sentiment. Weerawansa said there was no problem with Minister Fernandopulle's proposal.

However, with the consent of all, Parliament was suspended for a second time at 10.20 a.m. for a Party Leaders meeting.

It was suggested that an MP could be selected for the post without violating the Standing Orders by holding a vote. Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle asked the Opposition whether they were nominating a candidate.

Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara stressed that it would be a sign of political maturity if member could be appointed to this post by consensus.

The issue of whether Standing Order 4 (2) could be suspended for the purpose of electing a member who is not present in the House was then raised. It was pointed out that such a step would not violate the Constitution.

Chief Opposition Whip Joseph Michael Perera opposed this suggestion, saying it has not been discussed previously. Standing Orders cannot be changed at will, he said.

JVP MP Wimal Weerawansa noted that the suggestion from the UNP was ironic in that they changed the constitution itself several times.

Minister Fernandopulle told the House that there was provision to suspend Standing Orders of a specific purpose.

MP Joseph Michael Perera countered this argument, saying while there was provision to suspend Standing Orders, they could not be changed as suggested by Minister Fernandopulle. MP Lakshman Kiriella queried whether it was possible to take a vote after suspending Standing Orders. The Speaker clarified that Standing Orders could be suspended to consider a special matter or to take a final decision on such a matter.

MP Rauff Hakeem observed that Party Leaders should give their consent to suspend Standing Orders.

The Government had agreed to nominate another member, not chandrasekaran, at the Party Leaders meeting. Now the Government was proposing something else. This would amount to varying Standing Orders, not suspending it.

MP Joseph Michael Perera said a move to suspend Standing Orders should be included in the order paper.

Minister Fernandopulle confirmed that there was a move to appoint MP Wijenayake on a temporary basis. However, in case there was to be a vote, they wished to propose Chandrasekaran straight away. The need to stay the Standing Orders arose because the member is not in the country.

Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara, referring to Standing Order 135, said proposals should be brought only on a written notice given to the Parliamentary Secretary General. In this case, no notice has been given. This is also explained clearly in Standing Order 23 (1).

MP Fernandopulle said this argument would not apply to the matter in question. There have been many instances when Standing Orders were suspended.

MP Hakeem recalled that no vote has ever been taken in the House after suspending Standing Orders. The UNP never did it during their long period of rule. They also consulted the Opposition at times like these, Minister Anura Bandaranaike clarified that the UNP never consulted him on any matter when he was the Leader of the Opposition.

MP K.N. Choksy said giving notice on a matter of this nature was mandatory. Otherwise, the Constitution and the Standing Orders would be violated. One cannot deviate from procedure. MP Wijedasa Rajapakse stated that the question of giving notice does not arise in this case. It is a right of a governing party to nominate one of their members to this post suspending the Standing Orders does not violate the Constitution.

This matter could be a big crisis for Parliamentary business, Minister W.J.M. Seneviratne said. If notice has to be given for everything, Parliament will not be able to function smoothly. Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara: Let's take the vote.

Minister Fernandopulle: We want a decision on suspending the Standing Orders.

Speaker: The relevant MP should be present in the House.

MP Weerawansa urged the Speaker to give a correct decision without making various contradictory statements. The UNP should also disclose whether they are fielding a candidate.

At this stage, Speaker Lokubandara called the third Party Leaders meeting for the day, following which the issue was resolved.