The verbal battle, where strong words were exchanged in the lobbies of Parliament, raised eyebrows among opposition MPs. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, who is also the official Government spokesperson, and former Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake lambasted Minister Rauff Hakeem, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader. “This is a shameful thing to do,” lamented Senaratne.“You don’t [...]

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PCs Amendment Bill: Blazing row between Hakeem and Govt. frontliners

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The verbal battle, where strong words were exchanged in the lobbies of Parliament, raised eyebrows among opposition MPs.
Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, who is also the official Government spokesperson, and former Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake lambasted Minister Rauff Hakeem, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader.

“This is a shameful thing to do,” lamented Senaratne.“You don’t know what gratitude is. We have done so much for your party and you still behave this way. Don’t forget there are more Muslims in our party too,” declared Karunanayake. He claimed the UNP has done so much for the SLMC. Hakeem responded angrily that their remarks would have only strengthened his and his party’s resolve to vote against the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Bill last Thursday.

The reason for the angry responses came after Hakeem made it known that the SLMC parliamentarians would not support the Provincial Council Elections (Amendment) Bill in Parliament. The Bill was, however, passed by a two thirds vote later.

Some United National Party (UNP) leaders said Mr. Hakeem was forced to take up a position against the Bill only because his beta noire Minister Rishad Bathiuddin had also voiced his protests over the Bill. Mr. Bathiuddin leads the Sri Lanka Makkal Katchi.
However, the two Ministers fell in line after Government leaders persuaded them to support the Bill. Of course, they won some concessions too.

Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapha, who piloted the passage of the Bill by accommodating all the amendments that were proposed, was later heard to say, “We proved the supremacy of Parliament”.


Board rejects pie-in-the-sky bonus
A loss-making state venture’s boss recently proposed that his chief executive be given a whopping US$ 10 million bonus.
Whether he was joking or testing the waters with his fellow directors is not clear. But most of them literally flew into a rage at the suggestion and declared that would amount to ‘highway robbery.’ Since then, the boss does not talk on the subject, say insiders.
The payment of that “santhosam,” though the enterprise concerned has been bleeding the state coffers dry, is because of the boss’s claim that the chief had made a significant turnaround in the 2016/17 budget. The accounts of the outfit are done in US dollars. Funds for operational purpose still continue to come from the State.


The publicity vice of vice chair
It is customary for international bodies like the World Health Organisation, the World Tourism Organisation or the International Labour Organisation to have representatives of different countries head events as Vice Chair. So it turned out to be for the Sri Lankan politico who has been much in the news for promotional work.

The man became the Vice Chair of an outfit and promptly called all and sundry at home to arrange a reception.
A welcome ceremony and a parade that will take him home from the airport, not a long distance, was meticulously planned. Garlands were ordered from a florist.

Alas, the man’s arrival was delayed. The late flight was due to land at the Bandaranaike International Airport in the wee hours of the morning. So the event was cancelled. But that did not mean there was no tamasha. The event was shifted to the man’s plush office where speaker after speaker praised him for promoting Sri Lanka to the outside world.


US Ambassador Atul Keshap with GTF’s Father Emmanuel

GTF’s Fr. Emmanuel on low profile visit for reconciliation
Fr. S.J. Emmanuel, leader of the UK based Global Tamil Forum (GTF), arrived in Sri Lanka last week on what his organisation officials describe as a “low profile” visit.

It coincided with the Constitutional Assembly releasing its Steering Committee’s Interim Report on constitutional amendments.
He met leaders of Tamil political parties while in Colombo and later travelled to Jaffna. Staying at the Bishop’s House, Fr. Emmanuel attended an event at the Jaffna University.

While in Colombo, Father Emmanuel met US Ambassador Atul Keshap. Later Mr. Keshap tweeted “pleased that Father Emmanuel is striving to secure lasting equality, peace, justice and happiness for all in a united, reconciled Sri Lanka.”
According to some sources, Fr. Emmanuel planned a long stay in Sri Lanka. “This will help him keep in touch with authorities over new constitutional reforms and the ongoing efforts at reconciliation,” these sources said.


Hirunika came with baby to cast vote
Scurrying to raise a two thirds vote in Parliament for the passage of the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Bill brought out some interesting episodes.At the office of the Leader of the House, officials who were engaged in the task, found Minister Sarath Amunugama in a nursing home. He was asked to come over.

Colombo District parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra was convalescing after child birth. She came along with her baby. The little kid was left behind in the Prime Minister’s office while the mama walked to the well of the House to caste the vote.
Deputy Foreign Minister Wasantha Senanayake was in the shower when the urgent call went to him. He dressed up and promptly rushed to Parliament.


DPL meeting a non-event
A meeting of Sri Lanka envoys overseas, scheduled for this month, has been cancelled. The meeting had been convened by former Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake.
A Foreign Ministry source said no plans are afoot to hold the event on another date. It is felt that the matter is not of high priority and will entail heavy expenditure, the source added.


‘JO’ now turns guns on Attorney General
The ‘Joint Opposition’ has been the beneficiary of the coalition’s non-performance or shortcomings rather than proactive political action on its own part. Nevertheless, one area where the ‘JO’ has revelled is in moving Votes of No Confidence in Parliament. The latest to be listed in the Addendum of Parliament is one against Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, the official Government spokesperson. No dates have been fixed so far.

Among the charges listed against Dr. Senaratne is failure to adopt prompt measures, as the Minister of Health, to control the outbreak of dengue. The threat from dengue has receded considerably but the threat of a Vote of No Confidence remains.
Now, UPFA parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila hinted on Friday that the “Joint Opposition” would resort to the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act No 5 of 2002 to bring a Vote of No Confidence against the Attorney General.

This is for expressing the opinion that the Provincial Council Elections (Amendment) Bill that was approved by Parliament on Thursday did not require the approval of the Provincial Councils. When ‘JO’ parliamentarians protested, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya summoned the Attorney General on Thursday to seek his opinion.

‘JO’ parliamentarians insist that the approval of the Provincial Councils was necessary. However, the AG told Speaker Jayasuriya it was not required. The 2002 law lays downs the procedure for the removal of Attorney General or the Inspector General of Police on several grounds including gross abuse of power of his office; gross neglect of duty or gross partiality in office.

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