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Wednesday, 4 July 2018 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Skandha Gunasekara
The Joint Opposition yesterday demanded that the Government take immediate action against State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran for her statement calling for the return of LTTE rule to the north.
Joint Opposition MP Keheliya Rambukwella, addressing a press conference held at the parliamentary complex yesterday, said that it was the responsibility of the Government to take action against State Minister Maheswaran.
“The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution clearly states that legal action can be taken against an individual who acts or makes statements that undermine the unity of this nation. State Minister Maheswaran has clearly violated this law. The Government must take swift disciplinary action,” he said, pointing out that both the Internal Affairs Minister and the Foreign Minister were present at the event when Maheswaran made the remark.
MP Rambukwella went on to say that the Speaker too must make a statement on the matter and conduct an investigation through Parliament.
“The 224 MPs in Parliament have a responsibility to address the masses on the shocking statements made by State Minister Maheswaran. The Speaker, especially, as the head of the Parliament, has a duty to make a statement and take disciplinary action against Maheswaran as a parliamentarian.”
The JO went on to criticise Speaker Karu Jayasuriya for not making a statement on the issue and preventing the JO from speaking on the matter in Parliament.
“All we asked for was a few minutes to make a statement on this issue but the Speaker would not allow us. He himself failed to make a statement. He cannot hide behind the excuse that this is an internal issue within the UNP. The culprit is a parliamentarian and he as the Speaker of Parliament must take action,” he added.
By Ashwin Hemmathagama
Due to the unruly behaviour of Joint Opposition lawmakers in Parliament yesterday over a controversial statement made by Child Affairs State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran, the House was adjourned at 2.30 p.m.
The Joint Opposition lawmakers continued to disturb proceedings despite the disciplinary enquiry that Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe had assured Parliament over MP Maheswaran’s speech on the reemergence of the LTTE. A separate investigation was also promised by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya over her conduct as an MP under oath. However, identifying her as a “traitor”, the lawmakers wanted her to be expelled from Parliament with immediate effect, charging that she had violated an oath taken under the Constitution. However, Maheswaran, addressing the ‘Janapathi Nila Mehewara’ event held at Weerasinham Hall in Jaffna on Monday, had stated that “there is a huge need for the reorganisation of the LTTE in the North and East” and the reports relating to traces of the LTTE reorganising are heard regularly as a result of the “people in the North and the East not willing to discard the LTTE from their hearts.”
“Now we remember how we lived before 18 May 2009. In the present conditions our main intention is to bring back the LTTE if we want to live, if we want to walk freely, if we need our children to attend schools and return back,” she told the gathering, pointing out a recent incident where a six-year-old child was raped and killed.
Home Affairs Minister Wajira Abeywardana, Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana and Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Vigneswaran were also present at the occasion, according to reports.
