Govt. accused of attempting to trim Samurdhi

• Speaker suspends P’ment due to unruly behaviour 

By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya suspended Parliament yesterday for about 25 minutes due to the unruly behaviour of Joint Opposition lawmakers who were pointing the finger at the Government for depriving some low income Samurdhi recipients of their allowances.

Wearing black bands and scarves, the Joint Opposition lawmakers, led by MP Dinesh Gunawardena, disrupted the proceedings by shouting slogans. They accused the Government of moving to revise the list of Samurdhi recipients, which was high in number.

“I demand to know under what basis the Government is revising the list and how many beneficiaries will be deprived of Samurdhi? Do you admit that political allegiances are the basis for the revisions being made?” asked Gunawardena. However, MP Chamal Rajapaksa did not take part in the demonstration nor did he wear a black band.

In response, Minister of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms and Chief Government Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka informed the Parliament that Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage Minister S.B. Dissanayake would reply today.