The three-day adjournment debate on the government’s policy statement delivered by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa concluded in Parliament this evening.
Members of Parliament from both the government and the opposition debated on the contents of the policy statement and pertaining to issues faced by the public at present.
Parliamentarian Diana Gamage says the term of the President and the current Parliament should be extended by two years.
Speaking in Parliament today, MP Gamage said owing to the COVID-19 crisis, the President and the government were unable to take forward a number of development projects.
She said therefore she is hoping to present a resolution in Parliament to extend the term of the President and the current Parliament. MP Diana Gamage said by using the two thirds majority of the government in Parliament, the resolution should be passed.
MP Gamage claimed that the present government has been completing expressways and other development projects in the country and therefore they should be given additional time to complete numerous other projects in the pipeline.
The opposition says the government is not keen on identifying and punishing those behind the 2019 Easter Sunday Attacks.
Speaking in Parliament today, Parliamentarian Kavinda Jayawardena said although the present government came to power on the premise of punishing the perpetrators of the 2019 Bombings, no meaningful steps have been taken regarding the matter.
MP Jayawardena said the government has not even released the 22 annexures that are part of the report compiled by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that investigated the Easter Sunday attacks.
The MP claimed Minister Sarath Weerasekera had named four masterminds behind the Easter Bombings. He said one of the masterminds had already been released.
MP Kavinda Jayawardena said therefore they have no faith in the current government but assured under a future administration led by his faction, all annexures that are part of the report compiled by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that investigated the Easter Sunday attacks will be tabled in Parliament.
Parliamentarian Harin Fernando says the government has been branded as a failed administration since it has failed to make any progress related to the 2019 Easter Sunday Attacks in three years.
MP Fernando said the government is continuing stage dramas without apprehending the real suspects. He said similar incidents had been staged at a church in Borella recently.
MP Harin Fernando said even the Cardinal had claimed that the Easter Sunday attacks have been staged targeting the previous elections.
He said if he is at fault, the government can arrest him as well.
Minister Namal Rajapaksa says the government and Parliament should think about the future of the country.
Speaking in Parliament, Minister Rajapaksa said the public is well aware of the past but the time is apt to integrate new technology and think about the future of the country.
He said they have received Cabinet approval for the Cyber Security Act and the Data Protection Act and now it should be tabled in Parliament.
The Minister said they are hoping to establish a Data Protection Agency which will be responsible for protecting the data of all citizens.
Minister Namal Rajapaksa said the government will then become the data custodian.
He said by 2025, they are planning on becoming at least 50 per cent paperless at all state bodies.
The Minister also said they are also hoping to digitize the hansard in Parliament which will be a first in Asia.
