Parliament directs MP Bathiudeen be brought to House today

Thursday, 22 October 2020 04:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

SJB Vanni District MP Rishad Bathiudeen

The Sergeant at Arms of Parliament has written to the Secretary to the Ministry of Health, the Director General of Health Services as well as the prison authorities to ensure that SJB Vanni District MP Rishad Bathiudeen who is in remand custody is brought to Parliament today.

The letter was sent following a decision by Party Leaders to facilitate the MP to attend sittings in keeping with the Parliament (Powers & Privileges) Act.

It will be a crucial day in parliament today with the vote on the 20th Amendment scheduled for late evening. Earlier in the day , State Minister of Prison Reforms & Prisoners’ Rehabilitation Sudharshini Fernandopulle said he can attend Parliament only after completing 14 days at a quarantine Centre in keeping with the procedure adapted to keep prisons COVID-19 free. Responding to a query raised by Chief opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella why arrangements have not been made to enable Bathuideen to attend Parliamentary sessions, the State Minister said there are over 30,000 remand prisoners at present and there were stringent measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said that the necessary health procedures have to be followed before the detained MP is allowed to attend sittings.

When Opposition MPs inquired how SLPP MP Premalal Jayasekera who was in prison serving a death, sentence was allowed to attend sittings, Jayasekera said that he had been moved out of the prison and kept in quarantine for two weeks before being allowed to attend parliament sittings.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.