Muthuhettigama does it again

Mahinda P. Liyanage

Southern Provincial Councillor Mohan P. De Silva was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the sixth Southern Provincial Council at its inaugural meeting held in Galle yesterday.

At the outset UNP councillor Manusha Nanayakkara objected the presence of police officers within the council's chamber. Chief Minister Shan Vijayalal de Silva said police presence was due to numerous requests made by several councillors with regard to their security.

Opposition members opposed police presence. Police officers withdrew out of the premises later.

Then controversial Councillor Nishantha Muthuhettigama sought permission to be sworn in as a Provincial Councillor before the Chief Minister prior to the commencement of the meeting.

The Chief Minister requested the Secretary K.L. Dayananda to conduct the meeting according to the agenda on the orders of the Governor.

UNP councillor Maitri Gunarathne pointed out that according to the constitution, a councillor could take oaths even before a Justice of Peace and as Muthuhettigama had done accordingly, he was eligible to sit in the House and act as a councillor.

The drama took place when the council's secretary on the request of the chief Minister tried to go ahead with the agenda. Members of the Opposition rounded up the secretary obstructing the reading of the Governor's notice of convening the meeting.

Muthuhettigama invigorated by the opposition's aggressive reaction pulled out the microphone from the podium when the council's secretary was reading the notice.

However after serious allegations and altercations among the councillors the Governor's notice to convene the meeting was read.

Following the first item of the agenda the secretary requested the house to elect the Chairman of the Council.

The Chief Minister proposed the name of Mohan P. De Silva for the post of chairman seconded by Councillor Weerasumana Weerasinghe.

Then UNP councillor Manusha Nanayakkara proposed Nishantha Muthuhettigama as Chairman of the Council which was ruled out by the council's secretary stating that Muthuhettigama was not legible to be elected as the chairman as he had not sworn in properly as a Provincial Councillor.

As the secretary announced the unanimous election of Mohan P. De Silva as Chairman, Opposition members with Muthuhettigama created an uproar. In the middle of the upheaval before the chairman took the chair, Muthuhettigama forcibly sat on the Chairman's seat.

The drama ended with the intervention of the UPFA councillors who evacuated Muthuhettigama from the chairman's seat.

Muthuhettigama later apologised over his improper behaviour, allowing the council secretary to carry on with the agenda.

Vijaya Dahanayake was unanimously elected deputy chairman of the council.

Nishantha Muthuhettigama was later sworn in as a councillor before the newly elected Chairman Mohan P.de Silva at the chairman's chamber.