By Saman Indrajith

Chief Opposition Whip and Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella yesterday, in Parliament, accused the government of trying to postpone the debate on the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on political victimisation as a part of a sinister plot to strip 10 leading Opposition politicians of their civic rights.

 Raising a point of order, the MP said it had been previously agreed to take up the PCoI report on Thursday and Friday. It was the report of the PCoI, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Upali Abeyratne. “Then there is another special presidential commission appointed to implement the recommendations of the Abeyratne Commission. The second special commission, headed by Supreme Court Judge Dhammika Priyantha Samarakoon, comprises Supreme Court Judge Khema Kumudini Wickremasinghe and Court of Appeal Judge Rathnapriya Gurusinghe. Their task is to make further recommendations on the implementation of the recommendations of the previous commission. The term of the second commission lapses in the days to come. The government wants to postpone the debate on the report of the Upali Abeyratne Commission until the conclusion of the work of the second commission. It is afraid that the commissioners might change their minds after hearing what we have to say in the debate.”

The government plan was to go ahead and strip 10 political leaders of their civic rights as they were critical of the powers that be, MP Kiriella said. “We are against this move. The 10 politicians targeted by the government including former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, former ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Champika Ranawaka, Rajitha Senaratne, Malik Samarawickrema as well as MP M.A. Sumanthiran and JVP leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake.