8 July 2021 09:15 am Views - 273
Parliament went into an uproar after Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa alleged that there is a move to suspend the operations of a TV channel by cancelling its license.
“We have reliable information that the government has already embarked on cancelling the license. We want someone responsible to make a statement on it,” he said.
The uproar began when the Speaker went ahead with the business of the House prompting SJB MPs to raise points of order.
SJB MPs then started shouting while MP Velu Kumar who was raising a point of order stormed into the well of the House, while other SJP MPs joined him in minutes. A few Government MPs also came down in to the well in retaliation.
Minister Bandula Gunawardene said the present government will not suppress the media at any time. “Those who shout today are the ones who killed journalist Richard De Zoysa. The member of Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council who commented on a poster ‘who is he what is he doing’ is unheard of even today. These opposition MPs always come out with false allegations and disrupt the House. It is the Yahapalana government which suppressed the media most,” the Minister said.
“The opposition today fabricates things today and disrupts democratic institutions without tendering an apology for their past wrongdoings. There is a way to raise questions. An MP has to submit a written request prior to raising a question,” Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardene said.
“ Disrupting Parliament is also a serious crime. We oppose this move by the opposition,” Mr. Gunawardene added.
MPs Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam and Anura Kumara Dissanayake also stated their opposition to the alleged move to cancel the license of television station. Anura Kumara Dissanayake also protested against the arrest of JVP activists Samantha Vidiyaratne and Namal Karunaratne.