The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I draw your attention to this matter. We obtained this Adjournment Debate treating the situation as a national disaster, at the request of Hon. Members of the Opposition. There is nothing improper in that. However, we see how Government Members are routinely lingering in the Chamber today, while among the Opposition Members present, those from the Northern and Eastern Provinces—who faced the brunt of the calamity—are the ones here. It raises a fair question whether, for some major Opposition parties whose Members do not receive votes from those affected sides, this national disaster is not relevant to them. A massive disaster struck the Vanni electoral district represented by Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, who moved the adjournment today; he is in the House. Other Members from the North are also in the House. But we see how Members from other large Opposition parties—those with 10, 20, 30, 40 MPs—are behaving. We regret how politicians in this country act during a national calamity.