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Whilst confirming that the opposition groups in Parliament have nominated his name as the new Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises ( COPE), Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Eran Wickramaratne today said it is up to the government to decide on a policy to give the chairmanship to members of Opposition.
Mr. Wickramaratne was responding to the reports which said he had been nominated as the Chairman of COPE and MP Kabir Hashim as the Chairman of Committee on Public Accounts( COPA).
"I am aware that our names have been nominated for the posts. A final decision has to be made by the government which has the majority of members in the two committees. There have been instances where government adopted a policy of giving the chairmanships of the committee to the opposition," he told Dailymirror.
Meanwhile, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene last week assured that opposition members will be appointed as chairpersons of committees. He said this when Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella made an inquiry in Parliament. (Yohan Perera)