Sri Lanka, Sept. 11 -- A tense situation arose in Parliament yesterday (10), when SJB Kurunegala MP Dayasiri Jayasekara was denied an opportunity to present his case on a matter of privilege in Parliament by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne regarding an investigation being conducted by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption against the Speaker.

MP Jayasekara expressed regret and objected to the Speaker's decision to examine his privilege issue first before allowing the MP to present it formally on the floor. He argued that past parliamentary practice did not require the Speaker to screen privilege issues in advance.

Interrupting the MP's comments, the Speaker stated that he could not allow him to speak on mat...