Chief govt. whip reprimands SJB MPs for disrupting parliament proceedings to get TV coverage

By Saman Indrajith

Chief Government Whip Highways Minister Johnston Fernando on Thursday lashed out at SJB MPs including Colombo District MP S.M. Marikkar for deliberately obstructing parliamentary process and wasting public funds.

“The Opposition MPs should learn to act according to the Standing Orders. They raise frivolous issues and try to attract media attention. They do that by obstructing the House proceedings. It is already 11.35 am, but they keep raising points of order. They are wasting time allocated for the debate on the Presidential Commission report on the Easter Sunday carnage.”

Fernando said so when MP Marikkar raising a point of order claimed that the Minister was slandering the Opposition MPs on the pretext of instructing it to behave in the House. “Minister Fernando is finding fault with the MPs for raising questions. He does so on the pretext of urging the MPs to maintain dignity and decorum in the House. He is not a person who is in a position to lecture us on discipline. He is the one who broke chairs and hurled a copy of the Bible in Parliament. Now he is acting like a Saint.”

Minister Fernando: “That is a blatant lie. I never threw the Bible. There was no Bible in the entire Parliament complex. It was very recently a copy of the Bible was brought to Parliament by MP Harin Fernando. Until then there was not a single copy of the Bible here. You are not only disrupting the debate but also denigrating the Bible. He should not be allowed to denigrate a religion in the House.”