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SJB walks out of Chamber: Boycotting budget debate?

05 Dec 2021

  • Won’t attend sessions until Speaker assures safety: SJB
  • Government MP accused of attempting to assault SJB MP
By Skandha Gunasekara The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) staged a walkout in Parliament yesterday (4), demanding that the Speaker of Parliament ensure the safety of Opposition MPs.  Chief Opposition Whip MP Lakshman Kiriella said that a government parliamentarian had tried to assault SJB MP Manusha Nanayakkara in the parliament lobby. “Government MP Kanchana Wijesekera tried to hit MP Nanayakkara in the lobby. We will not stand for this,” he said, adding that the party would not attend sittings until the safety of the Opposition members was guaranteed by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. “The Speaker must ensure our safety. We will not attend parliament sessions until that is assured.” The incident occurred after Nanayakkara had made a statement in the House accusing Wijesekera of stealing two containers from the ports. Wijesekara had then tried to assault Nanayakkara in the lobby of Parliament in retaliation to the latter’s allegations in the Chamber. A letter signed by 38 governing party parliamentarians was also handed over to the Speaker calling for a disciplinary inquiry to be initiated against Nanayakkara’s alleged conduct in the Chamber last Friday (3). Last Friday, the SJB staged a similar walkout after the Speaker, at around 5 p.m., ordered the disconnection of the mic while Nanayakkara was speaking and allowed government MP Minister Sarath Weerasekara to speak instead.  The SJB raised objections to the previous evening’s incident in the House last morning, pointing out that it had been decided that budget debates would be extended beyond the normal parliamentary session that concluded at 5 p.m. The SJB claimed that Nanayakkara was deprived of using his allocated time to make his budget speech.  After protesting in the Chamber, the SJB staged a walkout on Friday. 


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