MP displaying banner:

Sittings suspended twice

Uditha Kumarasinghe and Irangika Range

The Parliament sessions of yesterday morning was suspended twice for 25 minutes following a display of a banner by the UNP MP Palitha Range Bandara inside the chamber.

MP Range Bandara put up a banner which had a picture of his party office and house that had been burnt down by an unidentified group recently. The MP’s display of banner compelled the Government Ministers to protest and demand the Chair to take action to remove it from the chamber. Finally the Speaker decided to suspend the sittings for ten minutes as the MP did not remove the banner.

When Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara commenced to make a statement on the progress of the investigations conducted by the police into the incident of setting MP Range Bandara’s house and office premises on fire, Ministers Mervyn Silva and Rathantilake displayed white clothes in protest against the MPs banner. They demanded the Chair to order the Serjeant-at-Arms to remove the banner from the chamber. Speaker suspended the sittings for the second time for 15 minutes.