By Xinhua
Colombo : Sri Lanka’s parliament sessions were held up twice on Tuesday morning as opposition legislators protested the appointment of an acting secretary general of parliament.
The leader of the main opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe said the appointment of Dhammika Kithulegoda as the acting secretary general was illegal.
However, the Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara told the house that Kithulegoda’s appointment was temporary and limited to 14 days and therefore it was not illegal.
Lokubandara then proceeded to invite Kithulegoda to take the chair.
The opposition United National Party (UNP) members then came to the well of the house and sat on the ground in protest.
This led to the suspension of the sittings at 10:10 a.m. (0440 GMT), officials said. The second suspension came at 11:50 a.m (0620 GMT) as the opposition members yet again protested the speaker’s decision.
Lokubandara then suspended the sittings, enabling party leaders to have a meeting on the crisis, officials added.
The UNP maintains that a secretary general of parliament could only be appointed through the supreme body of the Constitutional Council, which they allege that President Mahinda Rajapakse has willfully delayed.