UNP concerned over proroguing Parliament

• Says it may derail parliamentary committee investigations
• Points to forensic audit report on Bond Scam, other investigations due in Parliament
• Questions why President Rajapaksa prorogued Parliament for over a month
• Queries whether Govt. attempting to sign MCC without presenting to Parliament  

The United National Party (UNP) yesterday expressed concern over President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s move to prorogue Parliament, claiming that the Government may be attempting to side-line important Committee on Public Enterprise (CoPE) reports on corruption and other parliamentary responsibilities. 

“This proroguing of Parliament comes just a day before an important forensic audit for the CoPE committee was to be tabled, now it can only be tabled on 3 January next year,” UNP parliamentarian Musthajab Marikkar charged at a press conference held at the UNP office in Vauxhall Street yesterday. 

Marikkar claimed that since the prorogation has happened, the composition of the CoPE committee could change, and the new Committee may meet even later. He stated that the President can dissolve Parliament in March 2020, which could make the CoPE report and forensic audit report nonviable. 

“We suspect that this could be the initiation of a conspiracy to get those who are involved in the bond scams off the hook,” he charged. 

The UNP parliamentarian also charged that the Government may be attempting to sign the much-debated Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement without presenting it to Parliament and following due process.  “The Government painted a dark picture of the MCC in the run-up to the elections. The MCC needs to be signed by 31 December. We suspect that the Government prorogued Parliament to sign the MCC in secret without bringing it to Parliament,” he said.   

The UNP stands ready to assist the new Government in Parliament if they bring good policies that benefit the country, but is concerned about the actions taken by the Government so far, he opined.