Speaker decries conduct of Opposition

Irangika RANGE, Sandasen MARASINGHE and Disna MUDALIGE

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, yesterday told Parliament that the conduct of the Opposition MPs when the vote was taken for the Second Reading of the budget last Saturday was not acceptable and unsatisfactory.

If the Opposition MPs continue to obstruct a process of voting again, the vote would be taken orally as a collection, the Speaker said. The Speaker made this announcement after Chief Government Whip Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the behaviour of the Opposition during the vote taken was very unfortunate and regrettable.

Minister Gunawardena suggested that the Opposition must ensure that there would be no such repetition and the Speaker must act against them.

The Minister said that it was against the Standing Orders of Parliament to obstruct or disrupt a process of vote. The Opposition continued to protest defying the orders of the Speaker. That cannot be done. This cannot happen again. The Opposition did not even apologise for what it did. The Opposition must ensure that there would never be any repetitions of this nature. It is permitted to protest during debates, but such actions when a vote is taken are unparliamentary. If the Speaker does not take stern action, then the Opposition will repeat such acts.

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Standing Orders do not state whether the MPs should be standing or sitting when a vote is taken. If we had acted against the orders, the Speaker could have named us and ordered us out of the Chamber. He did not do so, which means he approved our way of protesting.

When the vote was taken, I was attacked with a water bottle. Do they approve of such acts? My documents on the table were ruined.

The Sinhala copy of the Constitution which was on my table was destroyed. Had the Speaker ordered us out, we would have listened and gone out.