By Shamindra Ferdinando
Amidst speculation that Attorney General K.C. Kamalasabeyson
has advised Speaker W. J. M. Lolubandara that parliamentary membership of S. B.
Dissanayake, serving a two years RI for contempt of Court stands annulled,
Secretary General of Parliament Mrs. Priyani Wijesekera last night said that it
would be up to the Speaker to make a decision. "He’ll take the ultimate decision,"
she said while declining to comment on the correspondence between the Attorney
General and the Speaker.
The Speaker would announce his decision when parliament meets
on January 4, she said, emphasizing that it would be the Speaker’s prerogative.
Tuesday's scene at Hyde Park...
She acknowledged that this was an unprecedented situation. "A
decision would have been easier if a privilege issue wasn’t involved," she said.
Mr. Kamalasabeyson politely declined to comment on Monday’s
front-page story SB loses membership in Parliament in the
Daily News.
Mahinda Wijesekera, MP leads Tuesday's protest march against the
imprisonment of S. B. Dissanayake.
(pix by U. K. Abeyratne)
"When I give an opinion it is confidential," he said, while
declining to confirm whether the Speaker sought his advice.
Some UNPers are of the view that the Speaker should not have
sought the Attorney General’s advice. They believe that the Speaker should have
taken a decision without complicating the issue by obtaining the AG’s opinion.
Former Attorney General Tilak Marapana, PC too had been
criticised for acknowledging that his colleague couldn’t be released until he
served the full term.
Political sources said that party leaders privately admit that
their ongoing protest campaign against the Supreme Court decision wouldn’t have
any impact.
