Parliament seat for opposition leader reserved for Sajith Premadasa: Karu to party leaders

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Speaker Karu Jayasuriya informed the party leaders that a decision has been made to reserve the seat of the opposition leader for MP Sajith Premadasa, on the recommencement of parliament. The party leaders also decided that following the Presentation of the Policy Statement by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the parliament session will be held from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on January 3rd. During the Party Leaders meeting held today, the Speaker requested that the Chief Government Whip and the Leader of the House be named by the government before Parliamentary sittings resume on January 3rd. The arrest of MP Patali Champika Ranawaka was also brought up during this meeting and the general consensus was that this is a violation of parliamentary tradition. It was decided that steps will be taken to call the IGP and officials before the speaker. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya addressing a media briefing stated that it was decided that this would be brought to the attention of the Police Commission. UNP MP Sajith Premadasa stated that the meeting was a very friendly discussion and everything works according to the plan. UNP MP Sagala Ratnayaka stated that there is an upcoming general election and they are restructuring the UNP and getting ready for it. They denied the discussion of the party leadership during the inquiries.