… Parliament erupts over fuel distribution dispute

by Saman Indrajith

A heated argument between government MPs and their Opposition counterpart over disruptions to the fuel supply threw Parliament into turmoil on Saturday. The government claimed there was a sinister attempt to create a fuel scarcity, and the Opposition accused Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne of preventing them from expressing their concerns about a matter of national importance.

The Petroleum Dealers’ Association said on Friday that it would stop placing new fuel orders in protest against revised commission rates.

Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando dismissed claims of a fuel  crisis, assuring Parliament that there were enough fuel stocks available. “There is no question of a shortage. People have begun panic buying,” he said.

The Opposition MPs alleged that Speaker Wickremaratne of being remote-controlled by the Leader of the House, Bimal Rathnayake to silence the opposition.

“The Speaker is being remotely controlled by the Leader of the House, Bimal Rathnayake, who was trying to stifle the opposition’s voice,” the opposition MPs charged.

Ruling party members, including Minister Rathnayake, argued that there was no basis for the claim of a fuel shortage. They explained that the three percent mark-up on fuel prices should be calculated based on the price at the time the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) received its stocks, and not on the net price as demanded by the distributors.

“The issue is that the distributors want the mark-up to be applied to the net price, which cannot be allowed under the court’s ruling,” Minister Rathnayake said.

Deputy Minister Jayantha also emphasized that social media had triggered panic buying. “We assure you that there will not be any shortage of fuel,” he stated.

However, Opposition MPs, including Gayantha Karunathilaka, D.V. Chanaka, and Dayasiri Jayasekara, insisted that the government must intervene to prevent a shortage. “There will be a shortage after Sunday if the government fails to resolve the situation,” MP Chanaka warned.