• Govt blocks 3 November debate
• Opposition refuses to amend or withdraw motion
• Claims breach of parliamentary procedures

The Opposition is to inform the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) of what it alleges to be the Government's violation of parliamentary procedures by preventing a debate on the no-confidence motion (NCM) against Speaker of Parliament Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, reliable sources said.

The move comes after the Government decided that the motion would not be debated in Parliament tomorrow (3 November), with the Opposition insisting that neither party leaders nor the Government has the authority to compel it to amend or withdraw a motion that has already been submitted and included in Parliament's Order Paper.

Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilleka said the Opposition had made its position clear at the party leaders' meeting and had no intention of amending, resubmitting or withdrawing the motion. "We informed the party leaders' meeting that we have absolutely no intention of amending this NCM, submitting it again or withdrawing it. Our position is that a party leaders' meeting has no right or authority to tell us to amend or withdraw an NCM once it has been submitted," he said.

He further said the motion was already on the Order Paper and that removing it would require Parliament to follow one of the recognised procedures. "There are two or three ways to remove it from the Order Book, and those procedures must be followed. One is for those who submitted the motion to withdraw it. Another is for Parliament to pass a resolution. Alternatively, the Government must suspend the Standing Orders (SOs) and have the motion removed through a majority vote," he said.

He accused the Government of attempting to keep the motion on the Order Paper without allowing it to be debated, despite not having followed any of those procedures. "The Government is trying to keep the motion on the Order Paper but prevent a debate on it. We want to make it clear that we are not prepared to draft an NCM according to the Government's wishes."  

Speaking further, Karunathilleka said the Secretary-General of Parliament was responsible for including motions on the Order Paper and that the Speaker had not initially objected to the inclusion of the present motion. "Earlier, when we submitted an NCM against the Deputy Minister of Defence, the Speaker had said it could not be included on the Order Paper. However, he has not done so in this case."

The Chief Opposition Whip also said the Government had initially indicated that the Attorney General's advice would be sought on the motion but had subsequently changed its position and decided not to obtain that advice.

Meanwhile, reliable sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Morning that the Opposition had decided to inform the IPU and the CPA of alleged restrictions on parliamentary debate on the NCM.

The dispute follows a decision announced by Leader of the House and Minister Bimal Rathnayake that the NCM against the Speaker would not be debated on 3 November. He said the Opposition had failed to amend the motion in accordance with Parliament's SOs and resubmit it by the 28 October deadline. Parliament would therefore hold an adjournment debate on 3 November instead. He added that the motion could still be taken up before the Budget debate if the Opposition resubmitted it in accordance with the SOs.