Columns

By Sandun Jayawardana

The lack of a large number of speakers from both the government and opposition forced a temporary halt to proceedings during Parliament’s final sitting a few days before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The decision prompted anger from the opposition, which accused Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakshe of setting a dangerous precedent.

Tuesday’s (2) Parliament sittings were held to pass several important pieces of legislation, namely the Banking (Amendment) Bill, Regulations under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act, Order under the Valued Added Tax Act, and Regulations under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act. Several hours into the proceedings, however, Deputy Speaker Rajapakshe informed the House that many MPs who had been scheduled to speak during the debate were not present in the Chamber. They included 15 MPs from the opposition and six from the government. As such, the Deputy Speaker said Parliament’s proceedings would be temporarily suspended until 4 p.m. 

When the House reconvened in the evening, Deputy Speaker Rajapakshe faulted both the government and opposition for not having their scheduled speakers in the Chamber and asked MPs from both sides to behave more responsibly to ensure that such important debates are conducted in a proper manner. Opposition MPs, though, insisted that the Deputy Speaker was wrong to lay equal blame on both sides, given that since it was the government that was moving the bills, orders, and regulations scheduled for the day, it was incumbent on its MPs to be present and ensure that the debate continued.

Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella said that, under standing orders, it was the government’s duty to show its majority in the House when moving its bills. “This is government business. They have to show the quorum,” he noted. Mr. Rajapakshe countered that the day’s speakers list had 21 MPs from the opposition and 11 from the government, and as such, the opposition too had an obligation to ensure that the debate proceeded without issues, which was what he informed the House. “The standing orders make no mention of a list of speakers’ names. It is the government that must show its majority,” Mr. Kiriella reiterated in response.

Party leaders had decided at their meeting to debate the pieces of legislation scheduled for that day and take a vote at 4 p.m., noted National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. “If the scheduled speakers are not available, the bill that is before the House must be put to a vote with the relevant Cabinet Minister present. That was the tradition that was adopted by this Parliament until now,” he added. If the minister was not present, the House should have been adjourned rather than sittings being temporarily suspended. “We have never had a tradition where sittings have been suspended to wait for ministers and MPs to show up. Today, we had to wait for more than 2 ½ hours for sittings to recommence. If this is to be the tradition from now on, it must happen every day.”

Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakshe

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) dissident MP Weerasumana Weerasinghe, who had been the last speaker due to speak from the opposition during the day’s debate, said that he was actually in Parliament when sittings were halted and that he was taking part in meetings of other Parliament committees. “Today, we are debating a matter coming under finance legislation. If the President, as subject minister, cannot be present in the House when such a matter is taken up, he has a bunch of state ministers who can be present to move the legislation. None of them is present,” he said.

Mr. Weerasinghe urged the Deputy Speaker not to blame the opposition for the government’s fault and said their privileges as opposition MPs to speak during a decisive debate had been violated through the suspension of proceedings. The Deputy Speaker, however, noted that the main business of Parliament takes precedence over the business of Parliament committees, and it was incumbent on MPs to give priority to the main business in the House.

This is the first occasion in Parliament’s history where proceedings have been suspended for several hours because MPs were not present, Leader of the Freedom People’s Congress Dullas Alahapperuma stated. He argued that it is a violation of the House rules and traditions of Parliament. “As such, there is no justification for continuing this debate today. If necessary, you can take a vote on the bill now, but practically, even this is not possible,” he told the chair.

Leader of the House, Susil Premajayantha, said both government and opposition MPs were present in meetings of Parliament committees or in the canteens at the time sittings were suspended. “I was informed about the issue and was just on my way to the chamber when sittings were suspended. If I had managed to make it to the chamber, I would have been able to table the motion. Even the state minister was present at the time, but the Deputy Speaker had to suspend sittings because the MPs who were supposed to speak were not present,” he stressed.

“If we follow today’s precedent in the future, Parliament will have to be suspended until a minister arrives or until the speakers come in. You can’t run a parliament like that. Why would we need standing orders? The Speaker can simply decide he will wait until a relevant minister or MP shows up and delay proceedings until then,” said NPP leader Mr. Dissanayake. He urged the Deputy Speaker not to set such a precedent.

In the end, the debate continued, with the government agreeing to extend the day’s debate by a further 30 minutes to allow some of the speakers from the opposition to speak. At the conclusion of the debate, the opposition asked for a division on the Order under the Value Added Tax (VAT) which increased VAT from 15% to 18%. The motion was passed by a majority of 36 votes, with 55 votes in favour and 19 against. Meanwhile, the Banking (Amendment) Bill, Regulations under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act, and Regulations under the Import and Exports (Control) Act were passed without a vote.

Parliament will reconvene on April 24 after the New Year holiday. There will be a three-day adjournment debate on a motion brought by the opposition on the Easter Sunday attack on April 24, 25 and 26.