Parliamentarians to sign letter asking MP Raheem to resign

Party leaders have agreed that Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Raheem should be asked to resign from his post as an MP by way of a proposal signed by all Parliamentarians.

The decision was taken at the party leaders' meeting held on Thursday. The proposal was put forward by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran. 

Pressure has been growing on Parliament to take action against Mr Raheem, who represents the Muslim National Alliance (MNA), after he was detained and fined for trying to bring in undeclared gold and smartphones valued at over Rs. 78 million. He was detained at the VIP lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport on Wednesday (24) with the undeclared items in his luggage while returning from a trip to Dubai. 

However, Mr Raheem, who had been fined Rs.. 7.5 million by Customs over the seizure of the items, had again left for Dubai on Thursday (25), it has now come to light. He is expected back in the country later tonight (27). 

Meanwhile, a letter signed by 20 MPs from several opposition parties was handed over to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Thursday requesting the Speaker to take action against the MP for violating the Code of Conduct for MPs that Parliament had approved on March 7, 2018. Among the signatories to the letter are Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Leader Udaya Gammanpila.