State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage had been asked to leave a session of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to make suitable recommendations for the expansion of higher education opportunities in Sri Lanka, on Tuesday (4), as she had allegedly behaved in a way that interrupted the proceedings of the Committee.
The Committee had met in Parliament on Tuesday under the Chairmanship of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister, President's Counsel Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe.
During the proceedings of the Committee, Parliamentarian Chandima Weerakkody had commented on some of the problematic situations in the higher education sector in Sri Lanka and the remedies that can be applied to them. It is reported that Gamage had continued to interrupt him while he was speaking. At that time, Dr. Rajapakshe had reportedly informed Gamage that Weerakkody should be given the opportunity to express his opinion unhindered, but she had allegedly continued to obstruct him. In this context, it is reported that she had been asked to leave the Committee if she was unable to behave appropriately.
When contacted by The Daily Morning to inquire about the incident, Weerakkody stated that as a MP who was elected to Parliament by popular vote, he had attempted to draw the Committee's attention to the problematic situations in the field of higher education, thereby fulfilling his responsibility towards the people. “At that time, this person (Gamage) behaved in a way that interfered with the proceedings. But, as a senior MP, I did not care about it and made my explanations,” he said. "There are MPs of different educational levels in Parliament. The behaviour of each MP is different. Something like that happened this time. I don't take them into account, but I think that the people will decide as to whether the country needs MPs who behave in this way. President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana should also pay attention to such inappropriate conduct," added Weerakkody. When queried about reports that Dr. Rajapakshe had told Gamage to leave the Committee due to her behaviour, he (Weerakkody) said: "I didn't really pay much attention to that incident, but during another Committee’s session, Dr. Rajapakshe told me that he was compelled to ask her to leave the Committee session."
The members of the Committee, Plantation Industries and Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Health State Minister Dr. Seetha Arambepola, and Opposition MPs Rauff Hakeem, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Eran Wickramaratne and Prof. Charitha Herath had also participated in the session.
Gamage was unavailable for comment.