Pivithuru Hela Urumaya General Secretary Udaya Gammanpila said that the decision by the Speaker to deny party leader status to constituent parties elected to Parliament through different alliances was an attempt to restrict the voices in opposition.

Speaking to Asian Mirror, Gammanpila said that in the preceding two Parliaments, party leader status was granted to leaders of all parties elected under different alliances. However, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has now decided that the parties which officially elected MPs will be given this privilege.

Accordingly, the United National Party, the United People’s Freedom Alliance, the Tamil National Alliance, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Eelam People’s Democratic Party leaders will be given party leader privileges.

This move will affect several party leaders elected through the UPFA and even Rishad Bathiudeen of the ACMC and Athuraliye Rathana Thera of the JHU, who were elected through the UNP, Gammanpila said.