COPE crisis Speaker stays away, asks MPs to choose new chairman

• Says I don’t have the power to remove COPE Chairman

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana  

The members of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE)  are free to select a new chairman, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana had  informed the party leaders, official sources from Parliament said  yesterday.  

“I don’t have the power to remove COPE Chairman and appoint  a new one,” he had told party leaders, according to official sources in  Parliament.  

Also, it has been decided to appoint a select committee to  look into the cricket crisis. Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa has  proposed that both the ruling party and the opposition should get equal  representation in the proposed select committee.  

Earlier, a group of MPs handed over a motion to the speaker calling for the appointment of a select committee on cricket.  

Party leaders also decided to have a special session on Sunday, December 10 to debate on value-added tax (VAT) revision.