Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa today slammed Cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena for ‘falsely claiming’ that incidents related to the Parliament cannot be dealt with under the regular law.
Responding to a question posed by NewsWire, Minister Gunawardena said property damage and other incidents related to the Parliament cannot be dealt with under the regular law of the country, adding that the matter could only be addressed within Parliament and that it cannot be even questioned by the courts.
The response was related to a question on the fairness of cracking down on protesters for destroying public property during anti-government protests when MPs who damaged Parliament property under the former government are yet to be apprehended.
Raising a question on the statement, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa pointed out that the Cabinet spokesman’s response is sending a wrong message to the public.
“Are Parliamentarians exempted from the Penal Code and Offences Against Public Property Act? His statement is sending a message saying that there is one law inside the Parliament and another outside the Parliament. He also claims that the Speaker decides whether these laws are applicable to Parliament or not,” MP Premadasa pointed out.
Also commenting on the matter, Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Mujibur Rahman said during the clash in Parliament in 2018, then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had immediately appointed a committee that identified 5 MPs as wrongdoers.
“The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) conducted an investigation and was prepared to file cases, but that was prevented through political influence. The Cabinet spokesman’s statement is further fueling public hatred towards the Parliamentarians. Please request the Cabinet spokesman to refrain from making such statements,” he said.
Defending his response, Cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena said as a public representative in Parliament for the last 33 years he had only explained that the law will be implemented against those engaged in violent activities during peaceful protests.
“I said MPs have parliament privileges and the Parliament law. I also explained that MPs attending Parliament cannot be arrested as they are engaged in legislative activities,” he further said.
Responding to this statement, Chief Opposition Whip MP Lakshman Kiriella said Parliament privileges only prevent MPs from being arrested when they are on their way to attend and when they leave Parliament.
“Therefore, there is no law that says they are exempt from other laws of the country,” he added.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena agreed to the clarification made by MP Lakshman Kiriella and said that all other laws in the country are applicable to Parliamentarians.
The Speaker informed Parliament that no MP is exempted from the country’s criminal laws under the Parliament Powers and Privileges Act. (NewsWire)
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