Speaker pleads with members to end petty bickering and get down to serious business of rescuing country from current mess

By Saman Indrajith

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena yesterday said that it was so unfortunate to note that MPs of both government and Opposition were resorting to bickering rather than trying to make use of the time allocated for the debate to find solutions for the crises engulfing the nation.

The Speaker said: Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the House, Chief Government Whip and the Opposition, Ministers and Members of Parliament, I thank all Members of Parliament of both the Government and the Opposition, for expressing your views during yesterday’s debate on the current economic crisis, as agreed by the House. It is unfortunate that nobody proposed a solution to the crisis. Due to interruptions, I had to suspend the sittings at two instances and this should not happen at such a crucial juncture in my view. Although not publicised by the media, the views expressed by Dayasiri Jayasekera and Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe are very important and deserve the attention of the House. They emphasised that all of us, irrespective of party affiliation, should immediately formulate a common programme to overcome this crisis, regardless of political motives. Also, it is regrettable that all Members of Parliament on Wednesday, as usual, raised the issue of political crisis in the House. Having this in mind during today’s proceedings, I urge all of you to work towards a suitable agenda that we can all agree on at the end of the debate.