Congratulates newly elected Deputy Speaker:

Outgoing Deputy Speaker clarifies position

Uditha Kumarasinghe, Irangika Range and Sandasen Marasinghe

Outgoing Deputy Speaker of the House, Geethanjana Gunawardena yesterday congratulated the newly elected Deputy Speaker Priyankara Jayaratne.

Geethanjana Gunawardena stated explaining the grounds of his resignation that it was unethical to remain in the office of Deputy Speaker when his elder brother Dinesh Gunawardene, the Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development was appointed the Chief Government Whip.

He stated that based on these grounds he would have to face uneasy situations when handling matters of the House.

He also stated that to win the respect and trust of the public in Parliament was the responsibility of the members of the House. Owing to these circumstances he resigned from the post of Deputy Speaker as the decisions taken should be just and lawful as well as it should be visible.

He congratulated Puttalam District MP Priyankara Jayaratne for being elected as the Deputy Speaker of the House. He also said that he was pleased that son of former Minister S. D. R. Jayaratne, a close colleague of his was elected to this office.