Action against Vijayakala: AG advises Speaker

The Attorney General has advised Speaker Karu Jayasuirya to examine whether under the current Standing Orders action can be taken against former State Minister, Jaffna District Parliamentarian Vijayakala Maheshwaran over a controversial statement she made recently. If this was not possible, the AG has asked whether the Standing Orders could be amended or let the House decide the procedure to be followed to pursue action against her.

The AG has sent his opinion on this possible course of action after the Speaker sought legal advice on how to deal with allegations levelled against Ms. Maheshwaran, after she, when addressing a public meeting in Jaffna, called for the return of the LTTE to bring back discipline to the North and East. Opposition MPs, mainly from the Joint Opposition (JO) group, have called for strong action against Ms. Maheswaran for calling for the return of a proscribed separatist terrorist group and acting in violation of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, in response to the complaints lodged by several groups against Ms. Maheswaran at Police Headquarters, an investigation was conducted by the Special Investigation Unit of the Police and its report has been submitted to the AG. A team led by an Additional Solicitor General is studying the report, the Sunday Times learns. If she has acted in violation of Article 157 (a) of the Constitution, action will be taken against her according to the laid down procedure in the Constitution, the Sunday Times learns. This Article in the Constitution prohibits any person of directly or indirectly, in or outside Sri Lanka, from supporting, espousing, promoting, financing, encouraging or advocating the establishment of a separate State within the territory of Sri Lanka.

Any person contravening this provision can be charged before the Court of Appeal and, if convicted, will be subject to civic disability for seven years and if a Member of Parliament, will cease to hold such office.