JO to make moves to counter Speaker ruling on Opp. Leader post

• JO to take measures to force Government to hold PC polls
•  JO stands firmly against use of Glyphosate

By Skandha Gunasekara

The Joint Opposition is planning on taking action to counter the ruling given by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya regarding the post of Opposition Leader.

Joint Opposition Parliamentary group leader MP Dinesh Gunawardena told the Daily FT that during yesterday’s weekly Joint Opposition meeting it was decided that senior JO members would be holding several rounds of discussions on the matter.

“We discussed moves to counter the Speaker’s decision. Joint Opposition seniors and constitutional experts will be holding several discussions on what we can do,” he said.

In addition, the issue of compelling the Government to hold a Provincial Council Election as soon as possible was also addressed at yesterday’s meeting.

“We have several options including going to the Supreme Court regarding the matter. We will also be canvassing the Elections Commission on the same,” he said, adding that the Joint Opposition would also conduct agitations in Parliament to force the Government to hold PC polls.

Apart from the three provincial councils that have had their terms expire, the terms of three more councils will expire in the next two months, namely the Northern, Central and North Western Provincial Councils.

Referring to the case of an American court imposing a fine of $ 298 million on agrochemical company Monsanto due to an individual developing cancer allegedly as a result of Glyphosate exposure, MP Gunawardena said that the incident was a wakeup call for any country considering the use of Glyphosate.

“Today these court orders in the US ring enough alarm bells for governments and countries that are using or considering to use Glyphosate. If it’s harmful to human life how can anyone support it? Irrespective of party or allegiance the use of such a life threatening chemical cannot be supported,” he said.