Opposition and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told a group of newspaper editors in Colombo that his party would present a Right to Information Bill in Parliament in the form of a private member’s motion and UNP MP Wijedasa Rajapakshe was already working on it.
When pointed out by an editor that the decision to have parliamentary sessions in the afternoon would inconvenience the print media and lead to a lag of one day in the publication of reports on parliamentary proceedings, the Opposition Leader said there was no reason why MPs could not attend Parliament in the morning. In Britain, the tradition of parliamentary sessions being held in the afternoon had evolved as MPs who did not draw salaries had to work in the morning, he said.
Asked whether the government had consulted the UNP or the Opposition on the proposed constitutional reforms, the Opposition Leader answered in the negative. The government is expected to move reforms to amend the electoral system, the term of the executive presidency and the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.