NPP rules out need to evaluate educational qualifications of members: Govt. stands by its MPs

• Govt. stands by its MPs
• President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has no intention of evaluating the qualifications of his MPs
• Following allegations over the qualifications of Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, a senior Minister said that both individuals held the required qualifications
• President informs his close confidantes that the recent allegations should not hinder the work of the government
• A senior NPP MP says Ranwala’s incident was ‘most unfortunate’ with immediate measures taken to rectify the situation
• President orders all 158 MPS to be present for all parliamentary sittings even in the coming New Year

The NPP government which is now a little over a month old has in recent weeks faced criticism over some of its members allegedly publicising fake doctor titles, receiving much flak on social media and among the citizens.

A government that came in following a landslide victory faced a severe blow last week when Speaker of Parliament, Ashoka Ranwala had to step down after he failed to prove his educational qualifications. In a statement, Ranwala said he had not lied about his qualifications but since he could not prove it presently, he had decided to step down from the post.

Following his resignation, there is presently a debate ongoing on social media over the qualifications of some other NPP MPs as well.

The government however remains steadfast and says they will not allow this incident to hamper its ongoing work. A senior NPP Minister told the Daily Mirror that while Ranwala’s incident was ‘most unfortunate’ with immediate measures taken to rectify the situation, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had no intention of evaluating the qualifications of other MPs as they all maintained the qualifications they expressed.

Explaining the concerns raised on social media platforms over the qualifications of some of its other members, namely Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, the senior Minister said that both individuals held the required qualifications and said the opposition was attempting to spread baseless allegations to tarnish the image of the government.

In fact Dr. Salih on Friday, in a statement on his Facebook, said he held an MBBS degree from Nishtar Medical College in Pakistan and a Diploma in Otorhinolaryngology from the University of Colombo.

“By sharing my qualifications, I aim to reaffirm the confidence of the people who have placed their trust in me,” Dr. Salih said.

As for the inaccurate Dr. title listed for Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, the Minister said this was an error done by the Parliament media team and the matter had been rectified immediately.

Justice Minister Nanayakkara however filed a complaint with the CID yesterday requesting an inquiry into the inclusion of inaccurate educational qualifications in the Parliament database.

As the Speaker's seat remains vacant, the Daily Mirror learns that the NPP will propose Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, a Member of Parliament from the Polonnaruwa District, as the new Speaker when Parliament convenes today. This move will also reject the SJB’s request, who said they too would propose three names from its party to be nominated for the Speaker’s post.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has informed his close confidantes that the recent allegations should not hinder the work of the government and has ordered all its 158 MPS to be present for all parliamentary sittings even in the coming New Year. Ministers have been informed to give priority to their Ministerial work.