Former Speaker and Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice Karu Jayasuriya in a tweet has called on the government to reconsider its ban on oil palm cultivation in Sri Lanka. 

Jayasuriya noted it will save much-needed dollars for the country and also pointed out the evidence does not support a ban. 

In April 2021, the Sri Lankan Government took an unprecedented decision of banning palm oil imports and ordered the uprooting of oil palm trees to be replaced with rubber trees.

The main reason cited was palm oil's negative social and environmental impacts based on a contestable report prepared in 2018.

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya General Secretary Udaya Gammanpila said that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was not wrong in electing TNA leader R. Sampanthan as the Opposition Leader.

Speaking to Asian Mirror, he said that the UPFA General Secretary Prof. Vishwa Warnapala, had sent a letter to the Speaker informing him that the UPFA does not wish to make a request for the Opposition Leader position.

Gammanpila said that the Speaker showed the letter to the MPs who had protested at the decision, informing them that he had acted upon the letter.

He added that the Speaker should have told the Parliament that he had received such a letter.

Gammanpila said that the letter had been sent without informing the MPs who had handed over a letter to President Sirisena, asking him to name Kumara Welgama as the Opposition Leader. It is those who sent the letter to the Speaker that should be blamed for what happened, Gammanpila insisted.

Fifty five UPFA MPs signed a letter requesting the naming of Welgama as the Opposition Leader. It was handed over to the President on September 1.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya allowed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to move motion in Parliament to increase the number of Cabinet Ministers.

Announcing his verdict, Jayasuriya said that there was no need for all parties to join in forming a national government.

Several MPs had argued that a national government has not been formed since there was an opposition in the Parliament.

The UNP and the SLFP recently signed a MoU on forming a national government. However, a section of the UPFA MPs opposed this. Both the TNA and the JVP also remain in opposition.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya adjourned the Parliamentary session for ten minutes amidst the debate on the national government.

Lawmakers debated on the definition of a national government, a novel experience in Sri Lanka.

The parliament is to decide on the size of the Cabinet of a national government today. However, some MPs contend that the UNP-SLFP agreement has not created a national government and strongly opposed the proposal to increase the number of Cabinet Ministers.