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New laws at right time
By Nalaka Nonis
The government will continue its practice of presenting important legislation in Parliament at auspicious times, Leader of the House and Justice Minister W.J.M. Lokubandara vowed yesterday after an inauspicious battle ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, the superstitious and the dead.

Mr. Lokubandara told The Sunday Times the government would continue its tradition where it presented the crucial 19th Amendment on September 19, though it did not get pinpoint accuracy in tabling it in the 19th second of the 19th minute. The minister, known and sometimes ridiculed for his zeal in horoscopes, auspicious times and the like, accused the Opposition of committing a grave or deadly offence by dragging on a condolence vote in a bid to pull the government into a Rahu time on September 19.

Despite the alleged filibustering by the Opposition Mr. Lokubandara presented the highly charged 19th Amendment in Parliament 15 minutes before the Rahu time began at 3.30 p.m.

The Amendment which has set off a major crisis between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the UNF government seeks to take away the powers of the President to dissolve Parliament and to allow MPs to cast a conscience vote.

Mr. Lokubandara said the government was normally concerned about the auspicious time when an important matter was being taken up in parliament and on the particular day the amendment should have been presented before 3.30 p.m.

He said if the auspicious time had lapsed they would have been compelled to present the amendment on another day.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister A.H.M Azwer charged that some opposition MPs had misused the condolence vote with some of them speaking for more than 30 minutes in an ugly and unacceptable bid to torpedo the 19th Amendment.

He said that in addition to political deception the opposition had made a mockery of a solemn event in the condolence vote on the death of Asoka Wadigamangawa. The minister hit out at the JVP saying its MPs had prompted PA MPs to drag on condolence speeches and it was strange to see a party which pledged allegiance to Marxist policies showing interest in Rahu times.

JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake denied the accusation saying, "we have nothing to do with what happened in the parliament on September 19, because we didn't make any condolence speeches."

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