Firebrand Member of Parliament Mujibur Rahaman on his return to the Chamber warned President Ranil Wickremasinghe of playing foul that could trigger a second ground invasion on a scale that brought about the ouster of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.
Rahaman, who resigned his seat in Parliament to run for the Colombo mayor’s post at a local election in 2023 that never happened, sounded the warning on his return to the Legislature to fill the void left by the sacking of Diana Gamage after the Supreme Court declared she was a British citizen and had no right to sit among the 225 MPs.
Gamage also hailed from Rahaman’s Samagi Jana Balavegeya (SJB) party but crossed over to support President Wickremasinghe and was made a State Minister.
“The President (Wickremasinghe) has lost his credibility in Parliament. He is a one man show. He bats, bowls, keeps wickets, fields and when he knows he cannot win the match he tries to umpire. When this happens the spectators who are watching the match are not going to keep quiet.
“They will invade the field and we all know how the crowd invaded the field when all was not well and an elected President (Gotabaya Rajapaksa) had to run for cover. This time if a ground invasion happens, all of us will be thrashed. So please don’t try to umpire and trigger a people’s revolt”, said Rahaman on the eve of the Sri Lanka team’s departure to contest the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies.
He accused President Wickremasinghe of being party to a plot to grant Gamage a diplomatic passport disregarding her British citizenship in violation of the country’s Constitution so she can be used to discredit Opposition leader and SJB head Sajith Premadasa.
He likened Gamage to a pet canine.
“Diana Gamage was safeguarded by the President and the government to bark like a dog at Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa using foul language in Parliament under government immunity. She (Gamage) jumped on other Opposition MPs and even tried to bite them. She was remote controlled like a puppet,” Rahaman lashed out in his speech on his return to Parliament after an 18-month absence.
Rahaman accused the House Speaker, the Secretary General of Parliament, the Attorney General’s Department and officers from the Department of Immigration and Emigration for hiding facts and figures on Gamage’s British Citizenship.
“Not only Diana Gamage, but all those who supported her to obtain a Diplomatic Passport should be taken to task”, said Rahaman in his most thundering speech to date.
