LSSP leader and MP Prof Tissa Vitharana yesterday said that he was not against the 22nd Amendment to Constitution Bill (which has been renamed the 21st Amendment) although he had not been able to present in Parliament when it was put to the vote, last Friday.
Prof Vitharana told The Island that he had not been present in the House as he was attending an important meeting. “There was a meeting of Dr. N. M. Perera Memorial Trust on the same day at a separate venue and I had to attend that meeting as I am the Chairman of the trust. Therefore, I left aroud 4 pm for the meeting, and it went on even after 6 pm,” he said.
“It has been wrongly claimed that I absented myself as we differ from the Uttara Lanka Sabaga Alliance of which I happened to be a member. We strongly support the 21st Amendment, though it was not the best of legislation. We also oppose those with dual citizenship coming to Parliament,” he said. Around 45 MPs were absent when the second reading vote was taken up on the 22nd Amendment Bill, while 48 were absent during the third reading vote, he said, adding that all MPs who did not vote for the legislation were not opposing the amendment.