Parliament to become elders’ home if current trend persists:Anunayake Thera

• Says if elderly MPs do not leave, new laws will have to be brought to remove them
• Govt. employees retire after reaching the age of 60 because they are no longer able to work hard. However, there are many who have surpassed the retirement age in the Sri Lankan Parliament 

By Shane Seneviratne
The Anunayake of the Ramanna Nikaya Most Venerable Kappitiyagoda Sirivimala Thera stated yesterday that if the current trend persists, the entire parliament will soon resemble an elders’ home and also emphasized the importance of elderly members stepping down to allow the youth the opportunity to contribute to the country’s development.

The Anunayake Thera emphasized this, when former Minister of Sports, MP Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday (14) visited him at the Getambe Temple.
 “Government employees are retiring after reaching the age of 60 because they are no longer able to work hard. However, there are many people who have surpassed the retirement age in the Sri Lankan Parliament. Some individuals retire from government service and transition to parliament. They enter parliament to pursue their next job, showing no inclination to make way for the younger generation and vacate their positions. They are seen struggling to reach parliament with the aid of a walking stick,” the Thera emphasized.
“They have no regard for the people of the country. Their focus is on selling the country’s resources to benefit their own generation. If an ordinary citizen in the country steals fifty or one hundred rupees, they will face the maximum punishment. However,if a powerful individual steals billions of rupees, the law does not seem to apply to them properly,” the Anunayaka Thera said.
 The Thera also emphasized that elderly MPs should leave parliament. If they do not leave voluntarily, new laws should be enacted to remove them.