Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Jonston Fernando said yesterday that very people who urged that Parliament be convened at a time when the previous General Election was declared are now urging the Speaker not to convene Parliament.
“The double standards maintained by the Opposition for their survival from time to time is hilarious,”he added.
The Minister made these remarks in response to the letter forwarded by Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella to the Speaker requesting that the debate on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution be postponed following the health regulations imposed by the government.
Minister Fernando said Parliament sittings on previous occasions were conducted following health guidelines and regulations. Therefore, future sittings will also be conducted by strictly adhering to health restrictions giving priority for the safety of everyone in Parliament. It is only those politically bankrupt politicians who are against the convening of Parliament,” the Minister said.
“These politically bankrupt Opposition members who were clamouring to reconvene Parliment when the previous General Election was called for and are now calling for the postponement of Parliamentary sessions to prevent the introduction of the 20the Amendment,” Minister Fernando added.
Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella had requested Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to postpone the debate on the 20th Amendment citing that OVID-19 positive cases have been reported from almost all districts in the country.
Kiriella in his letter to the Speaker said that the seating of Parliamentarians in the Chamber violates the very same regulations introduced by the government while the continuation of Parliamentary sittings also violates the Ministry regulations
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