When Parliament met last Friday, the government group withdrew from the chamber owing to the irresponsible actions of the Speaker. After adjournment of the session was announced the UNP, TNA and the JVP continue the debate. This action was similar to that of a bull in a china shop, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amarasweera said.
He was speaking at several ceremonies in Ethbatuwa, Lunugamvehera, Padawgama and Beralihela to mark the distribution of fruit plants, under the Ministry’s Api Wawalai, Api Kanne (we eat what we grow) programme recently.
Minister Amaraweera said today the JVP and UNP could not be considered as two different parties as they worked according to a single agenda. The JVP seemed to be more interested in protecting former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe than the UNPers themselves. There was no tradition to continue the debate after Parliamentary proceedings were adjourned.
The usual Parliamentary tradition was to give the governing party more weightage when appointing members to a Parliamentary select committee. But what the Speaker did was to offer the majority membership to the Opposition over the government group. This prompted members of the government to leave the chamber.
Minister Amaraweera said opponents of the government were spreading rumours about an impending food crisis. He said he categorically states that this was a false alarm and nothing of the sort would happen. There was a long drought from 2015 to the 2018 Maha season, but not a single person in the country was left in hunger. The last Yala cultivation season had been successful.
The country was now receiving adequate rainfall with tank and reservoirs filled to the brim. This would assure a successful harvest during the current Maha season and people should not heed rumours spread by political opponents.
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