News

SJB asks govt. to summon Parliament immediately

Published

5 years ago

2022/01/4

By Saman Indrajith

The main Opposition SJB yesterday urged the government to summon Parliament immediately to discuss the burning problems people were beset with.

Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo, Chief Opposition Whip Kandy District SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella said Parliament should be summoned without further delay as the country was facing massive foreign reserve crisis.

“Foreign exchange reserves were at USD 8 billion. It has been reduced to USD 1.2 billion. The government must tell the nation how that happened. We had been asking the government repeatedly in Parliament this question during the Budget debate. But the Finance Minister was not there to reply. Foreign exchange reserves were at USD 8 billion when we handed over the govenrment to the SLPP. There is a massive financial crisis in this country today.

“There are no dollars and essential goods are in short supplpy. Farmers are facing numerous difficulty. Prices of essential commodities are sky high. In the meantime, Parliament has been prorogued. The right thing that should have been done by the government was to increase the number of sessions of Parliament to discuss the prevailing issues in order to find solutions. It seems that the government closed down Parliament because the Ministers and MPs have no answers for the questions asked by the Opposition. They cannot keep running away from the problems. We call on the government to summon Parliament immediately.

The govenrment and the Opposition have a responsibility to look after the interests of the people. Therefore the government should summon Parliament without further delay.

“The government is trying to sell off national assets. Between 15 and 20 lands in Colombo are up for sale. Seven acres of prime land in Bogambara playground is to be sold. The government is trying to sell the Trincomalee oil tank farm. The agreements are to be signed while Parliament is closed. We need parliament open to debate the country’s problems,” Kiriella said.

SJB MPs Kabir Hashim and Rohini Kaviratne also addressed the press.

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Sun directly overhead Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon today (30)

Published

4 hours ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (30) are Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and
Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon.

News

Lanka tracks 11 US-sanctioned Iranian tankers off coast

Published

6 hours ago

2026/08/30

Thilina Walpola

(AFP) Sri Lanka’s maritime authorities were monitoring a fleet of 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers just off the island’s southern coast, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

The tankers were spotted close to the Galle harbour where an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from that frigate.

Iranian vessels have been in limbo, unable to return to their home port because of a US blockade.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign minister Vijitha Herath said the tankers were in international waters where they had freedom of navigation.

“These ships are away from our territorial waters… we have no hold on them, nor have we facilitated them,” Herath told AFP.

The military deployed reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats to monitor the vessels outside Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“There is no indication of any ship-to-ship transfer of oil or illegal discharge of pollutants, so there is no basis for Sri Lankan authorities to take action against them,” the official said.

Many Iranian merchant vessels moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore due to US sanctions, while several remained near Sri Lankan waters, authorities said.

Sri Lankan officials said Washington had not formally notified Colombo about sanctioned Iranian-flagged vessels

News

House to debate abolition of Chief of Defence Staff post

Published

6 hours ago

2026/08/30

Thilina Walpola

Parliament is to debate next Wednesday the Government’s proposal to abolish the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), with the Second Reading of the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill scheduled for September 9.

The Bill seeks to repeal the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009, which was introduced shortly after the end of the armed conflict.

According to Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera, Parliament will meet from September 8 to 11, with the business for the week approved by the Committee on Parliamentary Business chaired by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne.

The debate on the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill is scheduled to take place from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, following questions to the Prime Minister and other parliamentary business.

The CDS post was established under the 2009 Act as part of the country’s higher defence command structure.

On Tuesday, September 8, the House will consider two Orders published in Extraordinary Gazettes under the Motor Traffic Act from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by an Opposition motion at the adjournment.

On Thursday, September 10, Parliament will debate a Resolution under the Women’s Empowerment Act.

The final sitting day of the week, Friday, September 11, has been allocated from 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. for several Private Members’ Motions.

The motions will cover issues including regulation of the petroleum, fuel and water industries, measures to increase the birth rate, protection of the Diyagama Forest, pension deductions affecting Pirivena teachers, food-crop cultivation in mountainous areas, development of the Kithul industry and the establishment of a Faculty of Medicine at South Eastern University.

Questions at the adjournment will be taken up at the end of each sitting day.