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A heated exchange on Thursday over who should move the adjournment debate on the annual report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka led to a back and forth among government and opposition MPs as to who among them were ‘puppets.’

It began when National People’s Party (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake demanded to know why the debate, which he had requested, had now been listed on Friday’s agenda as being moved on behalf of the Government by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP, Prof. Ranjith Bandara.

“I have requested this debate on numerous occasions. I have even handed over my motion to you,” he reminded Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. “You are the Speaker. You know what happened at the Party Leaders meeting. Why would I request a debate on behalf of Ranjith Bandara? How is it then that the Government is moving my motion?” he queried.

Both opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran, who had been present at the meetings, supported Mr Dissanayake’s assertion.

“We can’t allow you to be a puppet controlled by strings pulled by others. You should allow Anura Dissanayake to move the debate,” Mr Premadasa told the Speaker.

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga quipped that it was Mr Premadasa who had become a puppet whose strings were being pulled by Mr Dissanayake.

“You might be confused by previous occasions where opposition leaders acted as puppets of others. I’m not one of those,” Mr Premadasa shot back.

Speaker Abeywardena acknowledged an error had occurred and said he will convene a special Business Committee meeting to resolve the matter. It was subsequently decided at the meeting to postpone the debate to another day in the first week of August.

Economists keep eagle eye on Census Dept.

Since the government assumed office, the Department of Census is relatively slow when it comes to releasing official economic data as scheduled in quarters for reasons known only to the officials at the department. There were criticisms in the past of manipulating data with further delays in the release of critical reports on the state of the economy.

These days, economists and analysts are eagerly waiting when the department will release the Sri Lanka GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2021. The data was scheduled to be released in June 15.

Mullaitivu security forces command left high and dry as Pavithra slips out

Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi made what seemed a secret trip to Mullaitivu last Sunday, under tight security, along with her family to worship the iconic Hindu Kovil Vattappalai Kannakki Amman.

Local media personnel were asked by the Minister’s MSD staff not to cover her visit since it is a personal visit of the Minister. When inquired, one staff member attached to the Minister said that the Minister made a vow to visit the temple soon after she contracted COVID-19 recently. Her visit was to fulfil that vow with special poojas organised in view of her visit.

Even though Security Forces Command in Mullaitivu put up a mini shed in front of the temple with cool drinks and short eats to welcome her, she left the temple from the exit door after attending special poojas.

Glaring lack of access at the very place that upheld access rights of differently abled

It is ironic that the very institution which is responsible for progressive legislation called the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in 1996 to ensure persons with disabilities can access public spaces, failed to implement it within its own premises- the Chambers of Sri Lanka’s Parliament.

Early this week, Leader of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R. Sampanthan attended the sessions in a wheelchair after a long leave of absence due to health concerns. The octogenarian leader could not enter the chambers on his wheelchair due to the designing of the inner building with steps.

A couple of Serjeant-at-arms personnel assisted him along with his fellow MPs to reach his seat.

No slogans in Tamil: Mano and Wigneswaran leave protests half way

Two Tamil political party leaders in Parliament had expressed their displeasure at a protest organised by the Opposition on Friday evening at Independence Square due to there being no Tamil language posters.

Tamil People’s Alliance leader Mano Ganesan and Tamil Makkal Kootani leader C.V. Wigneswaran went to the demonstration organised by the Opposition to protest against the recent fuel price hike and the increasing cost of living burden on masses. The duo noticed there were no Tamil language posters available for them to hold as the slogans on the placards were in Sinhala. Both of them left the protest before it came to an end.

Hearing of the incident later, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa telephoned Mr Ganesan and regretted the lapse on their part. He assured his party would make sure the country’s tri-lingual policy is strictly followed in the future when it comes to party-organised events.

Public Security Minister gets dressing down on favouring some and not others

Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara was again put on the defensive by the Opposition this week over his now infamous intervention on behalf of a popular model and her associates who were taken to quarantine after attending a party at a five star Colombo hotel recently.

Minister Weerasekara, under whose purview comes the police, came under attack by Opposition MPs on Friday over the arrests and subsequent forced quarantine of activists who had protested against the Kotelawala National Defence University Bill. Among those arrested and taken to quarantine was Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin.

Opposition MPs questioned on what grounds police were taking protesters who had been granted bail by courts, off to quarantine centres.

“You know that some female protesters’ clothes were torn during the arrests. Yet, your heart warmed to the plight of certain other women who underwent a similar experience. That is human nature. There’s nothing wrong with that. What is wrong however, is that you don’t seem to have the same consideration for other women,” National People’s Front (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated.

Minister Weerasekara, who had been on the defensive several times in the past over the incident involving the female model, accused the Opposition of trying to distort facts. “It was the woman’s lawyer who contacted me first and said the group did not have items they needed. I merely conveyed that to the Inspector General of Police. If I had done the same on this occasion, you would have accused me of taking clothes for Stalin. That’s why I did not intervene,” the minister claimed.

Netizens take on Pfizer tweets

An accidental Presidential mistake on the official Twitter handle of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over obtaining Pfizer vaccines to Sri Lanka made many netizens become instant fact-checkers on social media.

On Monday morning, the official handle of the President tweeted saying that Sri Lanka becomes the first country in South Asia to ‘acquire’ a contingent of Pfizer vaccines. Soon after social media users pointed out that the Maldives received a consignment of Pfizer in March and Bangladesh rolled out Pfizer just last week via the WHO’s COVAX facility.

The tweet was removed and another fresh tweet was published later in the evening replacing the word’ acquire’ with ‘purchase’. One user asked a very pertinent question: “The Maldives, an upper-middle-income country has secured Pfizer free of charge, and Sri Lanka, a lower-middle-income country, seems rather proud to have purchased the same?”

IPU wants to follow Rishad’s FR case

With the hearing on the Fundamental Rights petition filed by parliamentarian Rishad Bathiudeen further delayed at the Supreme Court with judges recusing themselves, the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union wrote to the Registrar of the Supreme Court seeking permission to follow the court proceedings remotely through an international observer.

Martin Chungong, Secretary General of IPU, wrote on behalf of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the IPU and sought leave to be granted to international observer Barrister Mark Trowell QC from Australia to follow the hearing remotely.

However, when the request was referred to the court, Justice Mahinda Samayawardhana of the three member bench recused himself from the case, citing personal reasons. He was the fourth judge of the Supreme Court bench to recuse himself from hearing the application citing personal reasons.