HOUSE APPROVES COMMITTEE OF SELECTION

121 MPS vote in favour of the committee composition Comprises five each from UPFA and UNP, 1 each from TNA and JVP Govt. MPS walk out of the Chamber in protest Anura Kumara Dissanayake calls for a vote

Parliament yesterday approved the appointment of the new Committee of Selection by a vote with 121 members voting in favour of the committee appointed by Speaker while no one voting against it.

The UPFA MPS left the Chambers in a boycott. Minister Wimal Weerawansa announced the government decision to boycott the House.“we will not accept this Parliament and we also do not accept you as the Speaker,” he told Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake proposed a vote by name but the Speaker decided on electronic voting. All members present in the House voted in favour of the committee.

Before the voting was called, Speaker Jayasuriya announced that he had appointed a committee of selection as per the powers vested in him under Standing Orders 136 and 143.

He said he had thus appointed House Leader Dinesh Gunawardene, SB Dissanayake, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Samarasinghe and Wimal Weerawansa from the UPFA to the Committee of Selections.

The members appointed from the UNF were Lakshman Kiriella,

I appointed these members to the Committee of Selection under the powers vested in me under SOS 136 and 143 because there was no consensus at the party leader’s meeting on the composition of the committee

Rauff Hakeem, Rishard Bathiudeen, Mano Ganesan and Patali Champika Ranawaka and from the TNA it was Mavai Senathirajah and Vijitha Herath from the JVP.

“I appointed these members to the Committee of Selection under the powers vested in me under SOS 136 and 143 because there was no consensus at the party leader’s meeting on the composition of the committee.

However, the government rejected these appointments stating that it was against SOS and parliamentary tradition. Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardene said the government which is in power should get the majority in the committee as under SOS and parliamentary tradition.

“The tradition has been to give the government in power to have a majority in the Committee of Selection. This has been practiced when it comes to appointing a committee of selection under all governments in the past,” he said.“it is wrong to say that a no confidence motion has been passed against the incumbent government as the said motion was not passed in a proper manner. You are carrying out a UNP agenda and trying to trample the executive.”

UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella who responded said the composition of the committee should be in accordance with the number of seats held by each party as there is no government at the moment.