Rajitha defends proposal to provide perks for Gamperaliya-monitoring MPs

Defending the proposal made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to give allowances for Government-side Parliamentarians monitoring the Gamperaliya development program, Cabinet Co-spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne said that the proposal will be taken up again next week. 

Refusing reports that President Maithripala Sirisena rejected the Cabinet paper, Senaratne said that the decision will be taken next week after further analysis.  The proposal recommended providing office and staff facilities for MPs assigned to oversee the implementation of the development program. Senaratne said the recommendation has been made by a committee comprising officials including the Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Finance Ministry. Wickremesinghe submitted the paper on behalf of the committee. The Government had earlier decided to assign the MPs who do not hold ministerial posts for this purpose.