The protest against the appointment of Dhammika Kitulgoda as the Acting Secretary General of Parliament is the latest issue the UNP seemed to be concerned with, while there were so many pressing problems confronting the country. "Kitulgoda was fully qualified to hold the position of SG and had been appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa under the powers vested in him by the Constitution", Minister of Power and Energy Mahindananda Aluthgamage told The Island yesterday (10).

A group of UNP members started shouting slogans and disturbing the sittings of the House on Tuesday (8). They did not even allow the Speaker to make the formal announcement of the death of the Chief Government Whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. They shouted down the Speaker with no respect for the Chair not allowing him to make the announcement that a vote of condolence would be taken up later. This in short is the low level to which these UNP members stooped to, Aluthgamage said.

This is the state of the present UNP leadership, which changes its public stance almost daily like someone living through the day only for a meal, he said.