Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila has reportedly requested the Secretary General of Parliament in writing to grant him permission to deliver a special statement in Parliament tomorrow.
The backbenchers of the Ruling Party have expressed their utmost objection to Gammanpila at the meeting held in Temple Trees under the patronage of the President today (07), over a comment the Minister had produced to media.
Last week the Energy Minister had claimed that the Covid-19 pandemic was not the cause of the ongoing dollar deficit in the country and that the continuous borrowing of foreign debt over the years and even after the subsidence of the pandemic has contributed to this crisis. Gammanpila had claimed that the people should be made aware of the real problem and the real reasons behind it.
His comment has been repeatedly questioned by government MPs at today’s meeting and Gammanpila has also responded to them. Both the President and the Prime Minister have denied the Energy Minister’s claim and elaborated on what they proposed as the real reason behind the dollar deficit, media reports revealed.
Correspondents added that Gammanpila has risen to his feet at the end of the meeting and left the scene in frustration. It is in this backdrop has the Energy Minister requested the Parliament Secretary General grant him approval to deliver a special statement tomorrow.
MIAP
