JHU Parliamentary Group Leader Ven. Athureliye Ratana Thero was prevented from presenting the adjournment motion to Parliament on Friday (October 22) by TNA Parliamentary Group Leader, R. Sampanthan, who strongly protested against it saying that the motion had not been translated into the Tamil language. He pointed out that even the announcement of the motion on the notice board had not been translated into Tamil so as to prepare the Tamil MPs for a voicing of their own sentiments on the floor of the house.
He urged Speaker, W.J.M. Lokubandara to postpone the debate for another day.
However the Ven. Ratana pointed out that the Secretary General’s Office had been informed of the motion he planned to move in Parliament two weeks ahead when the debate on the introduction of NIC’s for voters at elections was being held in Parliament. The Secretary General’s Office was aware that this was being moved today and therefore adjournment motion cannot be postponed," Ratana Thero said. It is a timely debate, he said.
However Sampanthan held the motion was directly relevant to the North and East issue and that the concerned Tamil Parliamentarians were not present in Parliament. "It should be postponed on these grounds," he said.
The TNA continued their protest against the motion being presented despite Speaker Lokubandara taking steps to provide a Tamil translation of the motion to the few TNA members present in Parliament.
Chief Government Whip, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and JVP Parliamentary Group Leader. Wimal Weerawansa agreed that it was indeed an oversight. "However it does not mean that it should not be debated today." Even though he was not in favour of the motion that it should be held as planned, Fernandopulle said.
Sampanthan persisted against the motion being debated in Parliament quoting several standing orders.
The one hour allocated to debate Ven. Ratana Thero’s motion was spent in debating as to why it should not be presented to Parliament as planned.
The Speaker adjourned Parliament at 1 p.m. giving a ruling that the motion should be presented in Parliament on a later date — November 19.
