Ranjith Siyambalapitiya to continue as Deputy Speaker subject to conditions

COLOMBO (News 1st); Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told the Parliament on Friday (8) that he will continue to serve as the Deputy Speaker under two conditions.

These conditions are that he only serves as the Parliament's Deputy Speaker until the end of April, and he would not accept any privilege as a Deputy Speaker with effect from the 5th of April 2022, the day he tendered his letter of resignation.

"If I use those privileges, I request the speaker to order the accounts division to charge me for those privileges," he added.

He told the house that the President had refused to accept his letter of resignation.

"When the SLFP Parliamentary Group met with the President on 5th of April 2022, the President had rejected the letter of resignation. He argued that given the present challenges, it is paramount to protect the mandate of the people and Parliamentary Democracy," he noted.

Siyambalapitiya noted that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party accepted these terms, and therefore he decided to continue to serve as the Deputy Speaker subject to conditions.