ROW OVER KITHULGODA (99 Feb 24)
The parliament had to be adjourned on Tuesday the twenty third over the appointment of Mr.Dhammika Kithulgoda as its new secretary general. Mr. Kithulgoda who had been a high court judge was recently appointed as the secretary general of the parliament overlooking the deputy secretary general Ms. Priyani Wijesekera.In the 51 years of history of the parliament the secretary general had been succeeded by the deputy secretary general.
The opposition had protested earlier on the appointment of Mr. Kithulgoda and when the parliament met on Tuesday, the first day of Mr. Kithulgoda in the house, the UNP member Mr. Harendra Corea raising a point of order had said that there was a stranger in the house. From there onwards the UNP members had asked for the removal of Mr. Kithulgoda. The speaker Mr. K. B. Rathnayake had then adjourned the meeting.
However this is not something that can be resolved by shouting in the house and the UNP will have to think of some other mechanism if they are genuinely interested in honouring the "traditions" of parliament. What is happening today is that the house of parliament is being used as a theatre by the parliamentarians and the people are loosing, if they have not already lost, any confidence they had in its affairs.