The main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), is to boycott the special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) set up to probe the country’s financial bankruptcy and all its SJB members are to resign from the Committee, The Daily Morning learns.

Earlier, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) Parliamentarian Vijitha Herath, on Monday (10), stepped down as a member of the said Committee. In a letter to the Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, Herath said that expecting a Committee primarily composed of individuals who contributed to the country’s financial bankruptcy to thoroughly investigate its true causes and provide relevant recommendations, would be fruitless.

When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (11), SJB MP and member of the said Committee Harshana Rajakaruna said that the SJB has taken a collective decision to step down as members of this Committee. He said that the rest of the Opposition MPs will also do so.

“We have understood that this Committee is not in a position to achieve its objectives. Therefore, we, the SJB MPs, decided to resign after consulting the Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa. Following the resignation of Herath, there is only one non-SJB MP, who is Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. We believe that he too, will step down,” he said.

Last week, the Opposition parties opposed the appointment of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary and Government MP attorney Sagara Kariyawasam as the Chairman of the special Parliamentary Committee set up to probe the country’s financial bankruptcy. 

The announcement of his appointment led to an uproar in the Parliament last week. Addressing the House, Chief Opposition Whip and attorney Lakshman Kiriella said that it was the Opposition that initially proposed the setting up of the said Committee. He objected to Kariyawasam’s appointment and said that it was unbelievable that a member of the Ruling Party was tasked with investigating the reason behind the country’s bankruptcy. Other members of the Committee include State Minister D.V. Chanaka, Minister and attorney Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Government MPs Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Jayantha Ketagoda, Dr. Pradeep Undugoda, Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda and Ranjith Bandara, SJB MPs Eran Wickramaratne, Ashok Abeysinghe and Rajakaruna, and Rasamanickam. 

Several attempts made by The Daily Morning to contact Rasamanickam on this matter proved futile.