Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne announced to Parliament that Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka has withdrawn from the three-member Parliamentary Committee that was appointed to investigate and report on a complaint received regarding the actions of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dayasiri Jayasekara.
The Speaker made this announcement to Parliament on Friday at the commencement of Parliamentary business.
Accordingly, the Speaker announced that SJB MP Rauff Hakeem has been appointed to replace Karunathilaka.
The committee was appointed on May 20, after considering a complaint that was received regarding the conduct of Jayasekara in the Parliament Chamber. Deputy Chairperson of Committees MP Hemali Weerasekara will serve as the Chairperson of this Committee, while the other member will be Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.
Addressing the House on Friday, MP Karunathilaka questioned the Speaker on appointing unnecessary investigation committees for minor incidents, which in the past too he had chaired and been part of, that ultimately bore no result where no reports of the findings have been produced. Karunathilaka said that this was the reason why he withdrew from this committee to investigate and report on the complaint received on actions of MP Dayasiri Jayasekara.
