News

Kiriella insists it’s prerogative of Speaker to bring Ranjan from prison to Parliament

Published

5 years ago

2021/01/20

By Saman Indrajith

Chief Opposition Whip and Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella yesterday told Parliament that it was the prerogative of the Speaker to bring MP Ranjan Ramanayake or not.

Raising a point of order, MP Kiriella said that neither the court nor the Department of the Attorney General could intervene in the matter and asked the Speaker to summon MP Ramanayake to Parliament.

“The Appeal Court, in the matter of MP Premalal Jayasekera, said that it was the duty of the Speaker to allow or disallow an MP to sit in Parliament. It said that the court had no powers in that matter. Anura Bandaranaike, as the Speaker, once clearly stated that the court could not intervene in parliamentary affairs. Similarly, during the tenure of Chamal Rajapaksa as the Speaker, the court gave a ruling to stop the impeachment against Shirani Bandaranayake but the Speaker did not stop it on the same ground that the court could not intervene in the affairs of Parliament. Therefore, the Speaker is the one who should make the final decision in this regard.

“The Speaker has made a statement that if the Attorney General and Court permitted him to bring MP Ramanayake to Parliament, he would do so. When he tried to bring Premalal Jayasekera, the Attorney General objected, but the Speaker went ahead using his powers and allowed Jayasekera to attend Parliament. That means the Speaker has the powers, and, therefore, I request hims bring MP Ramanayake to parliament.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that MP Ramanayake had been sentenced to jail for contempt of court and soon after that the Chairman of Elections Commission had stated that Ramanayake’s parliament seat might go vacant only if he continued to be in jail for over six months.

“According to that statement, Ramanayake still is an MP and he should be allowed to attend Parliament. He has that right under the privileges of an MP. As per legal experts, the sections 66, 89, 91 and 105 have ensured that he is still an MP. The Speaker is duty bound to ensure the rights and privileges of MPs so he is expected to take action to facilitate MP Ramanayake’s coming to parliament,” Opposition Leader Premadasa said.

TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran: “I want to flag several points in this regard. Before doing so, I am bound by the law and tradition to disclose my interest in the matter as the counsel who appeared for Ranjan Ramanayake in his case at the Supreme Court. I was privileged to appear for a clean and honest politician in court and I am proud of that. Nevertheless, he has been convicted and sentenced. The sentence of four years rigorous imprisonment is unprecedented and exceptionally severe. Parliament has a responsibility in this regard because we have not enacted a law for contempt of court. This has an implication to the Articles in the Constitution the Opposition Leader has just mentioned because it says for an offence for which the prescribed punishment is two years or more. There is nothing prescribed in the law, for parliament has failed to enact laws for contempt of court. Although there have been in the public realm a lot of instances where even drafts had been made we have not done that. By failing to do that, it has been something like freedom of the wild ass anything can be given as a sentence. That is not a good thing. In this case, Parliament has to take steps to enact a law. English law is to be substantive law because we do not have statute law now, and in English law itself scandalizing the court is no longer an offence of contempt of court. Unfortunately the court disregarded it. I like to bring to your notice a serious lacuna in the law with regard to statute for contempt of court in this unprecedented injustice to an honest member of parliament.”

Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage: Sumanthiran is the one who put Ramanayake in trouble by instructing him to go to the Supreme Court. You did not even go to the court when he was sentenced. Not a single MP was there to support Ranjan. If another lawyer had appeared for Ranjan Ramanayake he would have walked free today. Ramanayake did not have a counsel on that day. We all are saddened by the predicament Ranjan Ramanayake is in today. I have filed two cases against him and next week I will withdraw them by filing two motions because if those cases would be heard to an end, Ramanayake may get four more years in prison. We stand for MPs’ rights, but do not forget Ramanayake denigrated and continued to humiliate the judiciary. The Speaker should consider that the ruling to imprison Ramanayake was given by the Supreme Court.

MP Premalal Jayasekera: I was imprisoned by a High Court. We have records that one of the MPs had been told by the then Justice Minister that I would be sent to gallows. She had said the same to one of the chairmen of an institute. Therefore, I appealed against the judgment handed down to me. However, the ruling given to MP Ramanayake is not by a High Court but by the Supreme Court – the highest and apex court of the country. He has no court to go above that.

State Minister Nimal Lanza said that Ramanayake had humiliated and denigrated all, not only parliament, judiciary, police but all. “Ramanayake is in the same plight as the proverbial woodpecker that finally pecked on the banana tree. MP Sumanthiran should have pointed out those laws at the court not here.”

Justice Minister Ali Sabry: “We regret punishment MP Ramanayake received. The Opposition Leader cited Section 89 of the Constitution. The sub section 4 of section 89 clearly states that no person shall be qualified to be an elector at an election of the President, or of the Members of Parliament or to vote at any Referendum, if he is subject to the following disqualification. That is if he is serving or has during the period of seven years immediately preceding completed serving of a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called) for a term not less than six months imposed after conviction by any court for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than two years or is under sentence of death or is serving or has during the period of seven years immediately preceding completed the serving of a sentence of imprisonment for a term not less than six months awarded in lieu of execution of such sentence, provided that if any person disqualified under this paragraph is granted a free pardon such disqualification shall cease from the date on which the pardon is granted. So it is clear that Ramanayake is presently serving. This is different from the case of Premalal Jayasekera. The Supreme Court is the apex court of the country and since 1972 we cannot refer its decisions to another court for reversal. So no appeal is pending.”

All News Advertisement

News

The President’s Fund has been transformed into a people-centred fund – PM

Published

9 hours ago

2026/07/12

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the President’s Fund has been transformed into a people-centred fund and that ensuring equal access to education for all children is a key policy of the Government.

The Prime Minister made these remarks on 11th of July at Temple Trees while participating in the “Sarasavi Diriya Abhiman 2026” programme, organised to recognise students with special needs pursuing university education.

The President’s Fund has decided to provide financial assistance of Rs. 100,000 each to 370 students admitted under the special needs category through the University Grants Commission, and under the first phase of the programme, cheques were presented to 236 students.

Addressing at the event, Prime Minister stated:

“It is the Government’s policy to ensure equal access to education for all children, including those with special needs, such as neurodivergent and those with autism or dyslexia, without leaving any child behind in the education system. Vice-Chancellors and other education authorities bear a responsibility to ensure that the necessary practical accessibility facilities are available to these students within universities. In addition, the Government is taking steps to digitalise the education system through assistive technologies and to develop public transport and physical infrastructure in a manner that is accessible and inclusive for persons with special needs.These students are not a burden to the country; they are valuable human resources capable of contributing to sustainable development. The ultimate objective is to build a civilised society that recognises and respects the value of every individual.

The occasion was attended by the Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Upali Pannilage, Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva, and several others.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

Thambuttegama Water Supply Project Commissioned by the President

Published

13 hours ago

2026/07/12

Priyan

The Thambuttegama Water Supply Project, which will benefit 91,810 people in the Thambuttegama, Thalawa and Galnewa Divisional Secretariat divisions, was officially commissioned by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday (10) afternoon .

The project, which was launched under a concessional loan from the China Development Bank (CDB), was suspended between May 2022 and May 2024 due to the country’s debt restructuring process. However, recognising its national importance, the current Government allocated additional funding from the Government of Sri Lanka to successfully complete the project.

Constructed as a long-term solution to the chronic kidney disease that has spread rapidly across the region, the water supply project is also expected to improve the social and economic well-being of local communities.

The project aims to provide 25,000 new household with water connections.

Built at a cost of Rs. 32 billion, the project comprises a water treatment plant with a daily capacity of 18,000 cubic metres, three water towers with a capacity of 1,500 cubic metres each, a 12.75-kilometre water transmission pipeline and a 158-kilometre water distribution network.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Susil Ranasinghe said:

“The Thambuttegama Water Supply Project, which was declared open today by the President, has the capacity to provide safe drinking water to 25,000 families. The project has been completed at a cost of Rs. 32 billion. It was implemented with the assistance of the China Development Bank, but construction came to a standstill due to the economic crisis experienced in recent years. Over the past two years, we allocated funds through the national budget and have now successfully completed the project.

At the initial stage of the project, concerns were raised over drawing water from the Rajanganaya Reservoir. Farmers protested against the proposal. However, today this project is being commissioned with the blessing and support of the Rajanganaya farmer leaders, who are present here. They presented their concerns to us and we are committed to addressing them.

Their foremost concern was to ensure that no farmer in Rajanganaya would face a shortage of irrigation water as a result of water being diverted for this project. I can assure you without hesitation that there is absolutely no reason for concern. Not even a single drop of water required for agriculture will be denied in order to supply drinking water. This project is, after all, intended to provide clean drinking water to farming families themselves.

They also requested that compensation be paid if cultivation is affected due to any water-related issue. I assure you that there is no cause for concern on that front either. This Government has consistently compensated farmers affected by disasters. We paid Rs. 1.2 billion in compensation for losses suffered by farmers over the past seven cultivation seasons due to the Nilwala saltwater barrier. We also resolved long-standing issues relating to land acquisition under the Yan Oya Project and allocated Rs. 180 million to the District Secretary to compensate the affected landowners. In addition, Rs. 12 billion has been paid in compensation to around 200,000 farmers whose farmlands were damaged by Cyclone Ditwah. Therefore, if farmers suffer any losses or damage to their lands in the future, this Government stands ready to provide compensation.

Another request made by the farming community was the construction of the Ginipetti Bridge if water is to be drawn for this project. We have already allocated Rs. 240 million to build a new bridge capable of accommodating vehicular traffic and foundation work will commence shortly. At the same time, a team of experts has been appointed to determine whether the existing Ginipetti Bridge can be rehabilitated or whether an entirely new bridge is required. Therefore, I assure the farming community once again that we will not allow them to suffer any hardship or loss as a result of this project.”

Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, Governor of the North Central Province Wasantha Jinadasa, public representatives of the province, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong, officials of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, together with a large number of local residents, were also present at the event.

[PMD]

News

New Chairman and members appointed to the Public Service Commission

Published

13 hours ago

2026/07/12

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed S. A. Nimal Saranatissa as the new Chairman of the Public Service Commission.

The other members appointed to the Commission are B. Sanath Poojitha, E. R. Weerakoon, R. Ketheeswaran, J. M. R. Jayasundara, E. A. P. N. Edirisinghe, Dr S. A. A. N. Jayasekara and M. H. Mohammed Sameel.

The letters of appointment were presented to the newly appointed Chairman and members by Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat Thursday (09) afternoon .

The appointments have been made to fill the vacancies that arose following the expiry of the previous term of office of the Public Service Commission

[PMD]