Tense situation in Parliament over Speaker's conduct

COLOMBO (News1st): A tense situation arose in Parliament over the opportunity given to party leaders to raise questions under parliamentary standing orders. This was after the Speaker had not allowed Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam, the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, to raise a question during today's sitting. "Do not try to deprive the democratic rights of all parties. Do not try to destroy this tradition," opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Jathika Jana Balawegaya, accused the speaker of acting in favour of the government. "I would like to regrettably point out that you should have protected the tradition of holding talks with party leaders," Dissanayake argued in Parliament. He said that the speaker has issued the order in an autocratic fashion