Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa slammed Cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena today for “falsely claiming” that incidents involving Parliament cannot be dealt with under regular law.
In response to a question from NewsWire, Minister Gunawardena stated that property damage and other incidents related to Parliament cannot be dealt with under regular law in the country, adding that the matter can only be addressed within Parliament and cannot even be questioned by the courts.
The response was given in response to a question about whether it was fair to punish protesters for damaging public property during anti-government rallies when MPs who damaged Parliament property during the previous administration had not yet been caught.
In response to a question about the statement, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said the Cabinet spokesman’s response sends the wrong message to the public.
Are legislators exempt from the Penal Code and the Offenses Against Public Property Act? His statement implies that there is one law inside Parliament and another outside of Parliament. “MP Premadasa pointed out that he also claims that the Speaker decides whether these laws are applicable to Parliament or not.”
Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Mujibur Rahman also commented on the matter, saying that during the clash in Parliament in 2018, then-Speaker Karu Jayasuriya immediately appointed a committee that identified five MPs as wrongdoers.
“The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) conducted an investigation and was ready to file cases when they were thwarted by political pressure.” The statement by the Cabinet spokesman fuels public hostility toward parliamentarians. “Please ask the Cabinet spokesman not to make such statements,” he said.
Cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena defended his response, saying that as a public representative in Parliament for the past 33 years, he had only explained that the law would be applied to those who engaged in violent activities during peaceful protests.
“I stated that members of Parliament have parliamentary privileges and that Parliament is governed by law.”
“I also explained that MPs who are present in Parliament cannot be arrested because they are engaged in legislative activities,” he added.
In response to this statement, Chief Opposition Whip MP Lakshman Kiriella stated that Parliament privileges only prevent MPs from being arrested on their way to and from Parliament.
“As a result, there is no law that says they are exempt from other country laws,” he added.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena agreed with MP Lakshman Kiriella’s clarification and stated that all other laws in the country apply to parliamentarians.
According to the Parliament Powers and Privileges Act, no MP is exempt from the country’s criminal laws, according to the Speaker.
