by Prasad Gunewardene

(This comment is written being a Parliament Lobby Correspondent for national newspapers for over 25-years, having witnessed Traditions and Practices of Parliament)

One cannot stop laughing reading a report in an English daily yesterday that the Ministry of Public Administration is planning to take legal action against former Members of Parliament, Deputy Ministers and Ministers who have failed to vacate and return their official residences to the relevant authorities.

It said there were 25 in number who have ignored the notice to vacate those official quarters or bungalows. From the day the present Government of Unity took office, we have seen former Parliamentarians, Film Stars, Vocalists and Musicians parading the corridors of Courts, Commissions, Police and the CID.

The people view the presence of those persons on the night news telecast as hilarious episodes of a tele-drama on a daily basis. Most of those victims claim it is political victimization. Since some of those cases are pending before Court, I refrain from comment to avoid contempt and committing an act of sub-judice on the ongoing proceedings.

However, it is an open fact that some of those investigations have not been done in accordance with the normal procedures of the law. In many cases, even before statements were recorded the Police have found the individuals in question guilty and media statements issued. The law does not provide for such arbitrary procedures. In the case of trying to evict the 25 legislators from occupation in official residences, the Ministry of Public Administration does not state anywhere whether the issue had been brought to the notice of the Speaker of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Ministry and whether the Speaker has given such orders to call to evict those members.

The Speaker is the Custodian and Guardian of all former and present Members of Parliament. All Parliamentarians after completing five years are eligible for a pension. Hence, they continue to be a part of the Sri Lankan Parliament. And, they have a right to make representations to the Speaker on issues of shelter or security as former legislators cannot be evicted or their lives kept open to danger.

By tradition, former Members of Parliament continue to hold certain privileges in retirement and after defeat at elections. In matters connected to the security of former MPs the Speaker has the right to intervene. When the LTTE threat was at its peak followed by the JVP insurgency in the South, several former Members of Parliament in the UNP and SLFP who faced threats reported their plight to former Presidents J.R. Jayewardene and Ranasinghe Premadasa. The two Presidents discussed the issue with Ms. Sirima Bandaranaike and instructed the Speaker to direct the Police to provide adequate security to those former MPs. President Jayewardene pointed out to the Speaker that as long the former MP was entitled to his pension rights, Parliament was bound to ensure his security.

There are no special laws and provisions enacted in the Rent Act for the Public Administration Ministry to evict former parliamentarians from their official quarters. Under the normal laws of the land, former MPs or Ministers have a right to challenge such directive issued by the ministry in a court of law. These residences are given to the legislators at the discretion of Parliament and not by any ministry or housing authority in the government. Therefore, legislators who have been ordered to vacate their houses are entitled to make representations to the Speaker.

The Speaker of Parliament is the authority to first rule on such matters. If the Speaker’s directive is violated, the Speaker could refer the matter to the Minister of Housing and the Minister of Justice through the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry to take necessary action under the normal laws of the land as those houses or quarters are owned by the State. The Speaker has the right to interpret the law.

The Ministry of Public Administration is not entitled to interfere in the traditions and practices of Parliament. If representations have been made by new Members of Parliament about accommodation, the ministry or those parliamentarians should first refer the issue to the Speaker of Parliament. By tradition, the Speaker requests the Secretary General of Parliament to provide him with details of the availability of space in official quarters constructed for the legislators. And, if the Speaker is of the opinion that the MPs from outstations need urgent shelter, he approves an allowance as rent for those MPs until space is available at official quarters. There are many privileges to which legislators are entitled. No Member of Parliament can be arrested by the Police without the consent and authority of the Speaker.

President Jayewardene made it mandatory upon the Police to seek the permission of the Speaker of Parliament to question and arrest parliamentarians, if the legislators had committed any illegal acts.
In the present day, we see these hallowed parliamentary traditions being eroded. When interrogation and arrests are made, those are done in an arbitrary manner. The Police do not reveal whether prior permission had been obtained from the Speaker with regard to questioning or subsequent arrests of former and present legislators.

The State Machinery and the Law Enforcement Authorities should not be permitted to interfere in the authority of the Speaker and to break traditions and practices of the country’s Supreme Legislature where laws are made.

Courtesy:Ceylon Today