Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Anura Karunathilaka has resigned from the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to investigate the release of 323 containers from the Colombo Port without undergoing mandatory physical inspection.
The Parliamentary Select Committee, established to investigate and report on the release of the 323 containers without mandatory physical inspection and to submit its proposals and recommendations on the matter, convened for the third day on the 11th in Parliament. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Justice and National Integration, Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara.
Prior to the commencement of the evidence hearing, the Chairman informed the Committee that Minister Anura Karunathilaka had announced his resignation from the Committee’s membership. Accordingly, another member will be appointed to the Committee in due course.
A group of officials from Sri Lanka Customs, including the Director General of Sri Lanka Customs, Mr. Seevali Arukgoda, was summoned before the Committee at this session. The Committee recorded evidence related to the incident during the proceedings.
The meeting was attended by Committee members: Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe; Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala; Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Ilyas; and Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Dayasiri Jayasekara, Ajith P. Perera, D. V. Chanaka, Mujibur Rahuman, Dr. Najith Indika, and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra.
