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Home » ColumnsDep. Speaker gets tough; “MPs like this can be found in jungles”
The woeful disciplinary standards of some MPs again came to the fore this week after two opposition MPs were ejected from the chamber following heated scenes. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena took steps to order Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarians Nalin Bandara and Wasantha Yapa Bandara of the Freedom People’s Congress (FPA) to leave the chamber [...]
Irreverent elephants
My dear Diyawadana Nilamey, I never thought I would be writing to you this week but I feel I must. That is because the ‘Esala Perahera’ is the talk of the town these days, after some elephants went berserk the other day, trying to get into the Queens Hotel and causing a state of general [...]
MPs across the divide on one playing field as all hit out against SL Cricket
By Sandun Jayawardana The issues plaguing the country’s most popular sport due to alleged corruption and mismanagement by those in charge of the game took center stage this week during Parliament’s adjournment debate on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). The crux of the adjournment motion, moved by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Hesha Withanage, was the [...]
Spotlight on Sri Lanka Cricket
Ever since Sri Lanka won the Cricket World Cup in 1996 Cricket Administration has been dodged with controversy. Since then, the top positions in cricket administration have been coveted by many individuals and the ensuing tussle to get into important positions has seen governments often having to intervene and even appoint interim administrations to run [...]
Impact of foreign debt restructuring on the country’s external finances
The terms and conditions of the foreign debt restructuring that is expected to be completed by the end of next month will have significant implications for the country’s external finances. At present, we can only hope that there will be a large reduction of the outstanding debt to creditors (haircut) and extended periods for repayment [...]
Sri Lanka’s law-making in the devil’s playground
The Supreme Court’s striking down of Clause 2 (e) of the ‘Contempt of a Court, Tribunal or Institution’ Bill (gazetted on 26th June 2023) which had inexplicably brought in safeguarding ‘public order, public health and morals’ as an object of the Bill, is a relief. Why are obviously bad clauses included in Bills? This is [...]
Have ‘All Saints’ JVP’s much boasted virtues gone through the test of fire?
JVP leader Anura demands 20b from SLPP for damage to his halo The demonic curse of alleged corruption, made so often by the JVP against their foes, seems to have boomeranged and landed right in the heart of their Marxist nest. Its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake found the boot on the other foot when the [...]
Where o where have the guns gone and the law too
This is the stuff history is made of. And in this once glorious country, history is made every day by clutches of ham-fisted politicians while the long arm of the law is hastily withdrawn to cover its shady eyes. But this story surely is untold history—until now that is—and deserves a place in any modern [...]
Setback for SJB’s alliance moves, as Dullas woos Wimal’s group and JVP
Talks held at Communist party office and JVP headquarters; objective to find common ground SJB updates economic blueprint; despite crisis, “we can still recover, we can regain our ground, reform our economy, and rebuild our country” President outlines massive development plan for east; opposition sees clues for election in Ranil’s moves By Our Political Editor Two parliamentarians [...]
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