House where law is silent

Monday 6th December, 2021

Time was when fish markets were synonymous with brawls replete with raw filth liberally exchanged by warring parties. But today they have apparently taken second place to Parliament where donnybrooks are concerned. When fishmongers trade blows, the police can intervene to maintain the peace, and bundle them into paddy wagons. But when the honourable members of Parliament clash, the police are helpless; they just look on. There are times when even the police personnel attached to Parliament suffer blows at the hands of unruly MPs, but cannot do anything other than grin and bear it.

On Saturday, the SJB MPs staged a walkout, claiming that one of them had been assaulted by a government MP. They urged the Speaker to ensure their safety. A probe has reportedly got underway into the alleged incident, and we are not in a position to check the veracity of the claim at issue. Such acts of rowdyism, however, are not uncommon in Parliament.

Parliamentary sittings have been disrupted while the national budget is being debated. So much for our lawmakers’ concern for their legislative duties. The Opposition has picked many a hole in Budget 2022. Amidst an unprecedented economic crisis, the public must have expected Parliament to debate the budget thoroughly and suggest sensible amendments thereto during the committee-stage debate. But the government and the Opposition lock horns over other issues at the drop of a hat.

The government seems to be adopting diversionary tactics to prevent the flaws in its budget being highlighted. The Opposition also goes out of its way to kick up a shindy every now and then, playing into the hands of the government in the process.

The situation has become so bad that not even the Speaker is safe in Parliament because the culprits responsible for violent incidents go scot-free. During the short-lived Sirisena-Rajapaksa government in 2018, the Opposition MPs representing the Joint Opposition (JO), unleashed hell in Parliament, threatening as they did Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, who had to be removed to safety. The rowdies in the garb of MPs toppled the Speaker’s chair, damaged his microphones and assaulted their rivals. Some of them were seen hurling projectiles and even chairs at the police personnel escorting the Speaker. They also threw chilli powder at their opponents, and brought shame and disgrace on Parliament. It was widely thought that the culprits would be brought to justice. We pointed out, in this space, that the MPs who had damaged Parliament property could be arrested, and remanded without bail under the Offences against Public Property Act, but the so-called lawmakers remain above the law.

If the JO MPs who went on the rampage in 2018 had been prosecuted, the unfortunate incidents we have since witnessed could have been prevented. A committee was appointed to look into the incidents in question, but the culprits got away. What became of the complaints the UNF MPs lodged with the police against their JO counterparts is anybody’s guess.

The party leaders are meeting today to discuss Friday’s incident, we are told. It is hoped that they will be able to figure out what actually happened and take urgent action to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament and prevent their members from bringing it into disrepute.

There has been a severe erosion of public faith in the national legislature owing to the deplorable behaviour of its members. The blame for this sorry state of affairs must be apportioned to the party leaders as well; if they had nominated only decent men and women to contest the last general election, Parliament would have been free from trouble. The problem of indiscipline in Parliament is best blocked at source.

At least now, let the party leaders refrain from fielding political dregs at elections.