Nuwara Eliya library motion triggers protest as Deputy Mayor Sivanjothi Yoga Raja accuses Mayor of misleading councilors.
Nuwara Eliya library motion controversy erupted today (07) after Deputy Mayor Sivanjothi Yoga Raja publicly accused the Mayor of illegally passing a resolution to fulfill the wishes of the National People’s Power party headquarters.
Speaking during the May monthly meeting of the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council, the Deputy Mayor said the decision to hand over the council’s library building and library auditorium to the Postal Department on a temporary rental basis had been passed by misleading the council.
He said the resolution involved the children’s library and library auditorium, both used by children, being handed over to the Postal Department for a temporary rental fee described as meager.
Sivanjothi Yoga Raja strongly opposed the decision and declared that such forcibly passed resolutions would not be accepted in the future.
It is also significant that the protest came from the Deputy Mayor himself, who currently holds the position with the support of another councilor representing the Lanka Labour Congress, which helped establish the council’s power.
Addressing the council further, the Deputy Mayor said that during the previous meeting, the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council had passed a proposal to temporarily hand over the children’s library and library auditorium to the Postal Department on a monthly rental basis of Rs. 25,000.
He claimed the proposal had been brought at the request of the National People’s Power party headquarters.
According to him, the proposal was presented just minutes before the council meeting began through a small piece of paper, with councilors being informed to approve it.
He said the proposal had been placed before councilors without giving them enough time even to properly read it before it was passed.
The Deputy Mayor said the decision had since triggered strong public opposition.
He added that members of the public had expressed anger through the media, questioning whether councilors had any sense at all to approve such a move.
“The truth is, even though we were informed through that small piece of paper that the party wanted us to hand this over, we were not given enough time to read the proposal. By the time it was presented, we as a council had already passed it,” the Deputy Mayor said.
He accused the Mayor of misleading councilors and said the decision had been taken against the Municipal Council Ordinance.
“This is a decision taken by the Mayor by misleading the councillors, against the Municipal Council Ordinance, simply to fulfill the party’s wishes,” he said.
The Deputy Mayor said the decision must be reconsidered immediately.
He also urged the Mayor not to mislead councilors in the future into making decisions that violate the Ordinance.
“We emphasize to the Mayor that councillors should not be misled in the future to make decisions that violate the Ordinance. We urge him not to take such arbitrary decisions going forward,” he said.
