Buddika Pathirana presents record number of public petitions in single day

UNP lawmaker Buddhika Pathirana yesterday made a new record for presenting the highest number of public petitions in Parliament in a single day, by presenting 38 public petitions. He managed to break his own record made in March this year when he presented 33 public petitions.

Before Pathirana, MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara had presented 20 public petitions followed by MP Gamini Lokuge with 18 petitions in one day.

The public petitions received by lawmakers are moved in Parliament on a daily basis during the sitting week immediately after the sitting commences. Such petitions are then passed down to the Public Petitions Committee, a special purpose committee established to consider the petitions sent by the public and referred to it by Parliament and to report back to Parliament its opinion on the action to be taken in respect of such petitions. 

This committee has the power to summon before it and question any person, call for and examine any paper, book, record or other document and to have access to stores and property. The Public Petitions Committee of the eighth Parliament is headed by Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe. The members of the committee include lawmakers Wajira Abeywardana, Susantha Punchinilame, Douglas Devananda, Salinda Dissanayake, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Nihal Galappaththi, Bimal Rathnayake, Ranjith Aluvihare, Anura Sidney Jayarathne, Lakshman Ananda Wijemanne, K. Thurairetnasingam, Ramesh Pathirana, Vidura Wickramanayaka, Kanaka Herath, Mylvaganam Thilakarajah, Muhammad Ibrahim Muhammad Mansoor, Thusitha Wijemanna, Chaminda Wijesiri, Shanthi Sriskandarasa and S. Sivamohan. (AH)