Bimal Rejects Sajith's Request to Call All MPs for BASL Meeting

COLOMBO (News 1st); A debate emerged in Parliament over a proposed engagement between Members of Parliament and representatives of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), following a request by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to inform all 225 MPs of a meeting scheduled to take place at Parliament.

Addressing the House, Premadasa said the request had been made by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and that a delegation from the association was expected to visit Parliament between 12 noon and 1.30 p.m. on the following day.

"This request came from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. A delegation from the BASL is scheduled to visit Parliament tomorrow between 12 noon and 1.30 p.m. I would like to inform the Deputy Speaker and request that the Speaker also be informed. Please take steps to inform all 225 Members of Parliament, regardless of party affiliation, and invite them to participate in the meeting."

Responding to the statement, Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake said that no individual or external organization had the authority to summon all Members of Parliament and that such decisions must be made through established parliamentary procedures.

"The Opposition has stated that a professional organization has arranged a meeting with Members of Parliament tomorrow. First of all, no one can summon Members of Parliament merely because something has been announced to the media. This matter was discussed and decided upon by the Speaker and the parliamentary administration. All Members can only be formally notified based on an agreement reached through the Business Committee and with the consent of the Leader of the House."

Rathnayake further stated that Parliament had not granted permission for any professional body to convene a gathering of all MPs.

"No parliamentary committee has authorized any organization to call all Members of Parliament together. That is a very clear position. Yet the Opposition Leader is making such a request. Some media outlets then publish misleading reports. Therefore, I want to make it clear that the authority to summon all MPs does not rest with any individual Member."

At that point, MP Mano Ganesan intervened, stating that Premadasa had merely requested that all MPs be informed of the meeting and had not claimed any authority to convene Parliament.

"He only made a request to the Speaker to inform all 225 Members. That is all. Whether he has the authority or not is a different matter. We also do not know what is being reported in the media."

Rathnayake, responding further, referred to a previous request made by the Opposition Leader to the Speaker regarding a meeting with the Bar Association.

"Several weeks ago, the Opposition Leader wrote to the Speaker stating that the Bar Association had requested such a meeting and even proposed a specific date and time. Subsequently, on August 4, the Bar Association publicly rejected that approach, stating that it is not a political tool of any party and questioning how the Opposition Leader could allocate times on its behalf without consultation."

He said the matter had been discussed at the Business Committee and it had been acknowledged that the process followed was not in keeping with established procedures.

"The Bar Association itself rejected that request through a public statement. We all know there are differing views within the Bar Association on this issue. As far as parliamentary procedure is concerned, this approach is completely contrary to how such matters should be handled."

Rathnayake added that permitting one professional body to address all Members of Parliament would create pressure to offer the same opportunity to numerous other organizations.

"If we allow this, we will have to grant similar access to many other professional groups. That is not practical. If you wish, you may inform your own MPs, but I do not have the authority to announce that all Members of Parliament are being summoned to such a meeting."