JO to seek Writ Order against OMP

By Chamodi Gunawardana

The Joint Opposition yesterday said it planned to seek court intervention to issue a Writ Order against the Office of Missing Persons to be established by the Government in the next few weeks.

Speaking to the media, Democratic Left Front General Secretary Vasudeva Nanayakkara and a vehement supporter of MP Mahinda Rajapaksa said they would go before court after the office had commenced their operations in Sri Lanka.

“The OPM bill was passed by violating parliamentary procedures, Standing Orders and contrary to the stipulations of the Constitution. Therefore we cannot admit it as an actual Act,” he noted.  

“We will be alert over the operations of the OPM and will inspect their steps. If we note that it is acting outside its mandate we will go before court to question the legality of such an office by issuing a Writ Order,” he added.

Nanayakkara also said that the Joint Opposition would hand over a detailed letter to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya today over the tense situation created by them in Parliament when the OPM bill was debated on Thursday. Jayasuriya later strongly criticised the Joint Opposition for their behaviour and warned them not to repeat the scenes as it was disrespectful and purposeless.  

“The Speaker has no idea what really went on in Parliament and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe passed the Bill without considering our objections. Our report will focus on the incidents and allegations to set the record straight,” he charged.

    - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara