By Shamindra Ferdinando

The recent prorogation of Parliament was intended to disrupt the workings of six parliamentary committees which dealt with public finance, Prof. G. L. Peiris alleged yesterday (05).

Addressing the media at his Kirula Road residence, the former External Affairs Minister said President Ranil Wickremesinghe prorogued Parliament with the sole intention of disrupting ongoing investigations handled by those six committees.

The dissolved mechanisms were the Public Finance Commission, the Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Public Enterprises, Economic Stabilization Committee, Ways and Means Committee and Banking Sector and Financial Management Committee. According to Prof. Peiris out of 91 committees, 64 have been dissolved.

Yesterday’s briefing was the second given by SLPP National List MP Prof. Peiris since he switched his allegiance to Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa late last year.

President Wickremesinghe and the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) owed an explanation regarding the sudden prorogation of Parliament, the internationally renowned law academic said. The lawmaker asserted that the disruption of important committees eased pressure on those under investigation.

The UNP leader has prorogued Parliament twice since being elected the President by Parliament in late July 2022. Wickremesinghe first prorogued Parliament at midnight on January 27, 2023, in terms of powers vested in him under Article 70(1) of the Constitution. Accordingly, the fourth session of the 9th Parliament commenced on Feb 08, 2023.

President Wickremesinghe brought the fourth session to an end with the prorogation announced on January 26, 2024 and the fifth session would begin tomorrow (07), Prof. Peiris said.

The first session of the 9th Parliament was held from August 20, 2020 to December 12, 2021, and the second session was held from January 18, 2022 to July 28, 2022. Accordingly, the third session of the 9th Parliament began on August 3, 2022, and by the time the session ended yesterday (27), the Parliament had met for 58 days.

Lawmaker Peiris questioned the rationale in dissolving key committees thereby forcing Parliament to reconstitute them ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for later this year, most probably during the Sept-Oct period.

The ex-Minister asserted that the President and the SLPP obviously didn’t want the committees to function in the run-up to the presidential poll as they would have dug up embarrassing material in relation to the incumbent government.

However, the recent arrest and remanding of Environment Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, over his alleged involvement with the procurement of fake human immunoglobulin during his tenure as the Health Minister, has exposed the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government, Prof. Peiris said.

The MP emphasized that 113 MPs who voted against a no-confidence motion in early September last year that targeted Keheliya Ranbukwella, too, should be held responsible. The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government shielded the then Health Minister Rambukwella because it didn’t care about a spate of complaints regarding the deterioration of health services, Prof. Peiris said.

Prof. Peiris said that President Wickremesinghe and Premier Dinesh Gunawardena stood by Minister Rambukwella. The SLPP, too, should state its position regarding the Rambukwella affair.

Alleging that Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena served the interests of the President and the government, Prof. Peiris said that the SJB leader would spearhead efforts to move a no-faith motion against the Speaker. Prof. Peiris cited the endorsement of the certificate on the ‘Online Safety Bill’ by Speaker Abeywardena the primary reason for the no-faith motion.

Prof. Peiris said that regardless of him, along with parliamentarians M.A. Sumanthiran and Gevindu Cumaratunga, pointing out the illegality of the process adopted in the enactment of the new law, Speaker Abeywardena endorsed the certificate on the ‘Online Safety Bill.’

Parliament confirmed that the authorization of the ‘Online Safety Bill’ and the party leaders’ meeting, where the issue was raised by lawmakers, happened on February 1.

Prof. Peiris said that regardless of the Speaker’s authorization, the government couldn’t rectify the severe shortcomings in the new law as the ruling party failed to incorporate recommendations made by the Supreme Court in response to petitions filed against the ‘Online Safety Law.’

The Committee Stage, where the SC recommendations were to be inserted, was nothing but a farce, hence the decision to move a no-faith motion, Prof. Peiris alleged.