• Seeks internal probe on if the Speaker was mislead
• Speaker’s Office denies  

Opposition Parliamentarian and Attorney Udaya Gammanpila is to raise a matter of privileges in the Parliament regarding the way in which Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana read out the Supreme Court's (SC) determination on the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Bill.

Speaking to the media, he said that the way in which Abeywardana read out the said determination is problematic and that the latter may have been misled by the relevant officials.

“The Speaker informed the Parliament that the SC has informed that this Bill could be passed with a simple majority in the Parliament as it is consistent with the Constitution. It is a misleading of the Parliament, and a belittling of the SC. As an MP and a lawyer who challenged this Bill, I wish to raise a matter of privilege in the Parliament in this regard.”

When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (11) to inquire as to whether he has referred the matter of privilege to the Parliament or the Speaker by way of a letter, he said that he would raise the matter during the next Parliamentary session. If the entire Bill is consistent with the Constitution, he said during a media briefing that a problem arises as to what the SC has mentioned in its 54-page-long determination on the Bill. 

“The SC can make four observations about a Bill. It can state that a certain section of the Bill is inconsistent with the Constitution and that it could only be passed with a special majority in the Parliament, that a referendum is also needed to pass a certain Bill, that certain sections could be amended in a particular way so as to prevent any violation of the Constitution, and that all sections of a Bill are consistent with the Constitution. After making one of the said observations, the SC states that a Bill could be passed subject to the relevant amendments.”

Speaking further, Gammanpila claimed that the relevant officer who has instructed the Speaker with regard to the said determination has done so only by not reading the full determination. “In fact, the Speaker did not have adequate time to study this determination. Even if he received it in advance, he (Abeywardana) does not have time to read 54 pages. That is why the relevant officials have been appointed. We suggest that an internal inquiry must be conducted in the Parliament to find out if the relevant officials have misled the Speaker, intentionally or unintentionally,” he added.

The Speaker's Office had issued a statement about Gammanpila's statement yesterday. It stated that Gammanpila's statement is completely false, and misleading the country and the Judiciary. 

“If he makes a remark regarding a statement made by the Speaker, it is appropriate for him as a responsible MP to correctly refer to the related Hansard reports and other audio and visual media. The Speaker completely dismisses Gammanpila's attempt to mislead the people by misrepresenting someone else's statements to achieve narrow political goals,” the statement issued by Abeywardana's Media Secretary, Indunil Yapa Abeywardana, which was seen by The Daily Morning, read.

The Speaker informed the Parliament on 3 April that none of the clauses in the Central Bank Bill was inconsistent with the Constitution. Therefore, the Bill, which was presented to the Parliament on 7 March 2023, could be approved by a simple majority in the Parliament, subject to amendments which are mentioned in the determination. Opposition MP Gevindu Cumaratunga also claimed recently that the manner in which Speaker Abeywardana informed the Parliament of the said determination is problematic, an allegation which was however denied by the Speaker.