By Newswire Editorial
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has accused the government of improperly interfering in the legislature by pressuring the Opposition to amend the no-confidence motion submitted against the Speaker of Parliament.
Addressing Parliament today (06), Premadasa said the Opposition had been informed that the motion would be taken up for debate only if certain clauses were amended, describing the move as unconstitutional.
He argued that the Opposition has the right to submit a no-confidence motion and determine its contents, while the government has no authority to interfere with the matters included in it.
Premadasa said the Constitution establishes three branches of government with a system of checks and balances, adding that the submission of no-confidence motions is one of the mechanisms available to the legislature.
He further claimed that parliamentary privileges had been violated under Standing Orders 29(1) and 29(2).
The Opposition Leader alleged that although the no-confidence motion had been included in the Parliamentary Order Book, the Opposition was subsequently instructed at a party leaders’ meeting to amend its contents before it could be debated.
He described the move as an attempt by the executive to undermine the legislature and called for the matter to be re-examined.
Premadasa also referred to the questions of privilege raised by himself and Opposition MPs Mano Ganesan, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Mujibur Rahman and Chanaka Madugoda over the rejection of the no-confidence motion without a debate. (Newswire)