• It is the Speaker who decides on the appointment of chairmen of select committees

By Kelum Bandara  

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Sagara Kariyawasam said yesterday that there is no rationale behind the move by the opposition to boycott the sessions of the parliamentary select committee to probe reasons for financial bankruptcy of the country in protest over his appointment to chair it.  

 Mr.Kariyawasam told Daily Mirror the opposition – Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) - protested his appointment as the chair of the committee saying he was a junior MP.  
He said he remained a state counsel for 30 years before joining politics and spent seven years of that period as a state counsel.  

“Besides, I worked as the head of two statutory boards before. I have been a junior MP of Parliament. It does not mean I am incompetent. For example, late Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar is considered the best ever foreign minister of Sri Lanka. Yet, he served in Parliament only for a few years. One cannot gauge the potential of an MP merely going by the number of years he served in Parliament,” Mr.Kariyawasam said.  

He said the SJB insisted on appointment of its MP Eran Wickramaratne as the chair of the select committee but it is a post meant for a member of the ruling party.  
“It is the Speaker who decides on the appointment of chairmen of select committees. The opposition wanted to establish its viewpoint on the reasons for economic bankruptcy. That is why it is against my appointment,” he said.