Pandemonium at Parliament over SG appointment

By Rathindra Kuruwita
Parliament activities spiralled into chaos yesterday and the Speaker had to suspend Parliament twice for 10 minutes. The events transpired after Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara claimed that the appointment of Dhammika Kithulgoda as acting Secretary General of Parliament is not unconstitutional. The Speaker added that since the appointment was an acting appointment, it was only for a period of 14 days and it is neither illegal nor unconstitutional.

“The United National Party’s (UNP) claim that this appointment is illegal is only valid if the period exceeds 14 days. But since that is not the case, I don’t see anything is wrong with this appointment,” he said. He added that since this appointment is only for a short period of time, it has left the door open for the Constitutional Council (CC) to appoint someone permanently. “The President has only appointed Dhammika Kithulegoda for two weeks. I think that the President wants the CC to appoint a permanent General Secretary,” he said. After the Speaker asked Kithulgoda to read out the resignation letters of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) members, the UNP MPs protested by gathering in front of the Speaker’s seat and chanting slogans.

The UNP MPs lead by MP Dayasiri Jayasekara and Johnston Fernando chanted “respect the Constitution,” “don’t bury Democracy” and “end illegal appointments.”

Meanwhile, several government MPs confronted the UNP MPs and the session reduced to disorder.

“You can’t have a stranger attending the sessions,” claimed UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. “Dhammika Kithulegoda is the Secretary of the CC and one cannot appoint him as the Secretary General of Parliament even for a short period,” he said.

The opposition leader added that they have nothing against the character of Kithulegoda but the fact that proper procedure was not followed. “We have nothing against his character. But there are standards and procedures that we must adhere to. According to the 17th amendment the Secretary General of Parliament should be appointed by the CC. the president should therefore appoint the CC instead of disrupting parliamentary activities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary General Secretary Priyani Wijesekara bade farewell to Parliament yesterday. Several government and opposition MPs spoke in this occasion including Nimal Siripala de Silva, Ranil Wickremesinghe and Dinesh Gunawardene.

“Many MPs wondered whether a woman could hold this position, as the assembly is full of boisterous individuals, but she has proven herself,” said Wickremesinghe.

But the farewell ceremony was marred by the chanting of slogans by the UNP MPs and the verbal counter attacks by the government MPs who were gathered in front of the Speaker’s seat.