Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has sent a letter to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake regarding the abolition of pensions for Members of Parliament.

Acting as the Patron of the Association of Former Members of Parliament, he forwarded the letter to the President on behalf of the association.

In the letter, he pointed out that at the time of independence, politics was confined to the educated, wealthy landowning elite, but after 1956, ordinary citizens gained access to politics, resulting in a major social transformation.

He further noted that abolishing pensions for MPs would once again restrict politics to the wealthy, businesspeople, those who earn money through improper means, and affluent political parties, thereby preventing honest social workers from entering the political sphere.

Jayasuriya also highlighted that while a small number, including himself, have used their pensions for social and charitable purposes, the vast majority of former MPs depend on these pensions for their livelihood. 

He therefore urged the President, in view of the government’s plans to introduce a new constitution, to pay attention to this matter and take appropriate steps. (Newswire)

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Former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Karu Jayasuriya, has raised concerns over the National Constitutional Council’s decision to reject the President’s nominee for Auditor-General.

Taking to ‘X’, Jayasuriya said the Constitutional Council is a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s democratic fabric and it was established with cross-party support under the 17th Amendment, including by the President’s own party.  

“As the CC rejects the nominee for Auditor-General, we urge the government to take this matter seriously. At this critical time in our economy, a positive international image and a strong democracy are important to ensure resilience,” he added.

The former Speaker’s comments come amidst reports that the name proposed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for the post of Auditor General did not receive the approval of the Constitutional Council.

Accordingly, the proposal made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the Constitutional Council to grant a six-month extension to the Acting Auditor General, Mr. G.H.D. Dharmapala has been approved.

The Constitutional Council, which met yesterday, approved the President’s proposal. 

The position has been vacant for 44 days following the retirement of the former Auditor General. 

The opposition has accused President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of appointing an outsider from the Auditor General’s Department for the position. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union says its trade union action was called off yesterday following the intervention of former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to convene a discussion with the relevant authorities. 

Speaking to local media, the Chairman of the Union Sumedha Somaratne said the former Speaker had convened a meeting with the Minister and State Minister of Transportation last evening. 

Sumedha Somaratne said Karu Jayasuriya had personally invited them for a discussion with the authorities and had stated that he was intervening as a representative of the people. 

“We were not intending to attend any discussions with the authorities. We attended the meeting only because it was convened by the former Speaker,” he said. 

Sumedha Somaratne added that the Union had received a favourable response at the meeting leading to its decision to suspend the trade union action.  

He, however, clarified that the Union had not called off the strike due to threats by the authorities to suspend them from service. 

Stating that the authorities had delayed addressing their demands on multiple occasions, he said the Railway Station Masters had no choice but to resort to a trade union action.

The Railway Station Masters and Controllers launched a trade union action on Wednesday over several grievances, including promotions.

The trade union action resulted in the cancellation and limited operations of train services, severely inconveniencing the public. (Newswire)

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Former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Karu Jayasuriya has been unanimously appointed as the Chair of the Former Parliamentarians’ Caucus. 

According to a Parliament statement, the appointment was made during the first meeting of the Former Parliamentarians’ Caucus held at Parliament recently under the Chairmanship of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana.

Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s name was proposed by the former Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala and former Member of Parliament Sumedha G. Jayasena. 

Meanwhile, former member of Parliament Shantha Premaratne was unanimously appointed as the convener of the Caucus.

A discussion was also held at length regarding issues faced by the former members of Parliament, during which the Secretary General of the Parliament said the Secretariat of the Parliament is working to resolve such concerns.

The Speaker pointed out the importance of contributing the knowledge and experience of former parliamentarians for the future development of the country.

The Members of Parliament also agreed to form a constitution for the Caucus and to form sub-committees to contribute to the development of the country by utilizing the international relations and political experience of former parliamentarians.

Accordingly, sub-committees on welfare affairs, constitutional affairs, political affairs, and economic and international affairs were formed. (Newswire)

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