Sirisena says parliament was dissolved to prevent unrest
Colombo, Nov 11: Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday defended his controversial sacking of parliament, saying the decision was taken to prevent violent clashes among rival lawmakers, after Speaker Karu Jayasuriya accused him of "usurping" the rights of legislators.
Sirisena in an address to the nation outlined his reasons for dissolving parliament well ahead of its scheduled closure. Sirisena's decision was criticised by some political parties and civil society groups as unconstitutional and illegal.
He said there were media reports that politicians would clash during a vote to decide between two men claiming the premiership.
On October 26, Sirisena abruptly sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, after three-and-a-half years of an estranged relationship with him.
The island nation plunged into a constitutional crisis following the move. Sirisena had suspended parliamentary proceedings until November 16. Later, owing to domestic and international pressure, he issued a notice to reconvene parliament on November 14.
However, on Friday, Sirisena dissolved parliament and announced snap polls on January 5 next year after it became evident that he did not have enough support in the House to prove the premiership of Rajapaksa.
"If I allowed the parliament to meet on November 14, there would have been violence in the House and it could have spread to our villagers and towns," Sirisena said.
"It was sad that parliamentarians were being traded for rupees 100 to 150 million," Sirisena said, referring to statements made by some of the parliamentarians that they were offered huge money to switch sides.
Sirisena also blamed parliamentary Speaker Jayasuriya for the current political situation.
"The other reason for my dissolution of parliament was the behaviour of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. He issued statements saying that he would not recognise the appointment of a new prime minister using my presidential powers."
He said Jayasuriya's insistence of having a floor test on the very first day of the parliamentary session was unacceptable.
Jayasuriya, earlier, accused Sirisena of "usurping" the rights of legislators.
"I have watched over the last two weeks as the executive branch has seized the rights and usurped the powers of members of parliament who were elected to represent the people," Jayasuriya said.
"I call upon all public servants to refuse to execute any illegal orders they may receive, no matter from whom," he said.
Referring to remarks by Sirisena loyalist Sarath Amunugama, Jayasuriya said, "I lament that the purported foreign minister, a highly regarded politician, has falsely alleged that I intended to prevent the president from delivering the statement of government policy when parliament was set to reconvene on November 14. It is on this imaginary premise that the minister suggests that parliament had to be dissolved."
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
