News
SJB to launch hunger strike to remove COPE Chairman
By Saman Indrajith
A hunger strike campaign will be initiated soon if Rohitha Abeygunawardena is not removed from the Chairman post of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) with immediate effect, says SJB Kurunegala District MP Nalin Bandara told Parliament.
MP Bandara said yesterday: “The members of the COPE are resigning one by one. Already eight members have tendered their resignations. Their protest is a reflection of displeasure the public have against appointing Abeygunawardena to this position. We demand that the Chairman be replaced with an MP from the Opposition. Whenever we raise this issue, the Chair tries to remain non-committal stating this and that. It should tell this House whether the Chairman would be removed or not,” Bandara said.
He said so when newly appointed COPE member SLPP Kandy District MP Wasantha Yapa Bandara announced his resignation from the Committee yesterday.
Soon after Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakshe announced to the House that the business committee had nominated MP Yapa Bandara’s name to the COPE to fill the vacancies created by resignations, Yapa Bandara got up and stated that he would resign. “This Committee demands that a member from the Opposition should be appointed as its Chairman. As such I resign from this Committee. I will send my resignation in writing,” Yapa Bandara said.
Nalin Bandara said: “Time has come for the Chair to announce to the House what it is intending to do in the face of these resignations. This crisis is evolving fast to become a catastrophe because people consider this a joke. This will further erode public trust in Parliament. As the Chair goes on without heeding to the voice of the people, it seems we’ll have to start a hunger strike to effect this change.”
Nine members have resigned from COPE since the appointment of Abeygunawardena to chair the committee.
NPP Parliamentarian Asoka Ranwala who was appointed the 22nd Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament, on 21st November has resigned from his position today [13], in the wake of the controversy surrounding his educational qualifications.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has officially appointed members to the Port City Economic Commission.
Accordingly Harsha Amarasekera, President’s Counsel, has been appointed as the Chairman while Damien Amal Cabraal, Mohan Ray Abeywardena, Sanjaya Kulatunga, and Dr. Harsha Subasinghe were appointed as members of the Port City Economic Commission
The official letters of appointment were handed over to the members by the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat today (13).
“We will not allow the trust the people have placed in us to be undermined in any way,” stated President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during a meeting with the heads of state media today (13).
He further emphasised, “Regardless of their status in government, if mistakes are made, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action.”
The President further explained:
“For more than seven decades, the people of this nation have built and dismantled various governments. For the first time, we stand with a profound understanding of the historic mandate entrusted to us and the National People’s Power on two occasions.
The people placed their faith in the National People’s Power (NPP) government, hoping for a standardised and stable country. We will not tarnish that extraordinary trust, even by the slightest misconduct.
Simply put, our government is not here to shield anyone who errs, for any reason. Be it within the broader framework of the country or within our administration, anyone found guilty of wrongdoing will face consequences. We will not hesitate to act decisively and at the right time. In essence, our government will not shield anyone who makes a mistake, regardless of the reason. Whether the mistake occurs within the country or at any level within our government, we will not hesitate to take decisive action. Every necessary step will be taken at the appropriate time without delay.”
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also reaffirmed his government’s unwavering commitment to upholding the trust placed in them by the people, who have endured decades of deception. He pledged to work tirelessly to build a better nation.
The Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, Director-General of Government Information, Harsha Bandara, and the heads of state media were present at the meeting.
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