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Delimitation vote: Musthapha’s swing draws opposition flak
View(s):Provincial Councils Minister Faiszer Musthapha’s voting against the Delimitation Committee report that he himself presented to Parliament has drawn strong criticism from opposition members.
Mr Musthapha submitted the report to Parliament on Friday morning, and in the evening voted against it,saying there were shortcomings in the report.
His action has been described as a rare move.
A former Parliament administrative officer said the most a minister would do after presenting a bill or a motion would be to withdraw it if he/she had a change of heart.
“This is an unusual measure taken by the minister to vote against the motion he presented. But it is not, in any way, undemocratic or unparliamentary. It is likely that the minister was hoping there would be a groundswell of support if he went ahead with the debate. But we can see that the reaction has been negative and his move did not have the expected result,” he said.
At a news conference later on Friday, opposition parliamentarians, including Kanchana Wijesekara, Wimal Weerawansa and Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, criticised the move. “This may be a rare occasion in the world. Why was the report submitted if it was going to be defeated?” Mr Weerawansa questioned. Explaining his action, Mr Musthapha said he was only presenting to parliament a report prepared by an independent committee.