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Pandemonium prevailed at today’s Parliamentary sittings when the opposition brought up for discussion the accusations made against the President by Consumer Affairs Minister, Ravi Karunanayake. During the counter argument some legislators of the Government had turned unruly and manhandled certain opposition members according to Opposition Spokesman Dr Sarath Amunugama. Sessions were adjourned for a short period as a result. Amunugama charged that the Government had in the meantime passed the Bill to introduce the Value Added Tax, without granting an opportunity for the opposition to voice its views. The Joint Opposition has meanwhile protested the curtailment of its democratic rights and called for a Parliamentary Debate. Amunugama said that the introduction of the VAT would heap more burdens on an already harassed population. He said that they were calling on the people not to pay the VAT until the opposition is granted an opportunity to debate the VAT Bill in Parliament. Speaking at a media briefing organized by the joint opposition today, S. Sathasivam, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) MP said that today’s incident was an organized disturbance by the Government. The CWC represents the large Tamil labour force employed in Sri Lanka’s plantation sector. “The sole intention of the Government was to prevent the VAT to be debated,” Dinesh Gunawardena, leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna said. Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse, Chief Opposition Whip Mangala Samaraweera, JVP Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa were among those present at the briefing.
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