-By A Special Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -16.Nov.2025, 11.20 PM) If anyone tuned into the Sri Lankan Parliament this week expecting democracy, they were instead treated to a live, unscripted tele-drama starring none other than Dr. Ramanathan Arjuna MP—the only medically qualified man in the chamber who seems permanently allergic to parliamentary discipline.
Every time the Speaker attempts to move from Item One to Item Two, the chamber is pierced by a familiar noise:
A shout.
A scream.
A question that nobody asked for.
And all delivered with a theatrical flair that would make even Kollywood actors pack up and go home.
Standing Orders?
To Arjuna, they appear to be optional reading material—like the warranty card inside a rice cooker.
Foreign diplomats observing Sri Lanka’s parliamentary broadcast were reportedly startled by the sudden eruptions from the Jaffna District MP, prompting one diplomat to whisper, “Is this man debating or performing a stress test?”
Meanwhile, schoolchildren watching at home were left wondering whether the national legislature had adopted a new performance-based curriculum.
Teachers now face the challenge of telling students:
“No, dear, you cannot scream at your classmates and call it a Standing Order.”
The MP’s increasingly combative conduct—including shouting matches with officials, confrontations with police, and a general “I-am-above-the-law” swagger—has pushed several legal commentators to question whether the Parliamentary Privileges Committee should finally intervene.
One senior constitutional lawyer told us:
“Privilege is not a licence for behavioural bankruptcy.”
The public watches, bewildered, as Arjuna wanders across the chamber with the confidence of a man who believes parliamentary rules were introduced only to inconvenience his schedule.
In previous speeches, the MP has proudly spoken of his visits to Geneva to “speak truth to power.”
Fair enough. Sri Lanka needs critical voices.
But critics now argue that if Arjuna can demand answers from the government, then he too must be prepared to face questions—particularly regarding the sources of his political funding, his diaspora networks, and long-rumoured family associations with wartime actors.
Legal experts stress:
These are not accusations—
they are questions any democracy must be willing to ask any public representative, especially one who questions everyone else.
In the land where parliamentary education appears optional, some MPs whisper that perhaps Arjuna skipped the chapter on decorum during medical school.
The evidence?
His impulsive shouting, dramatic gestures, and a flair for turning simple questions into operatic monologues.
The Speaker, visibly exhausted, now keeps the Standing Orders within arm’s reach—not to read, but to use as a shield.
Many Jaffna constituents now ask a simple question:
“Is this man working for us - or performing for the cameras?”
While the region grapples with unemployment, migration, land disputes, and failing infrastructure, Arjuna seems determined to focus his energy on public theatrics, live-broadcast scuffles, and shouting at whichever MP mispronounces a Sinhala word.
Multiple senior parliamentarians are now in agreement:
The Arjuna Problem has matured into a Parliamentary Problem.
They insist on:
• A disciplinary review
• Mandatory decorum training
• A clear warning regarding Standing Orders
• And, crucially, a public explanation for his increasingly erratic behaviour
As one government MP quipped,
“If shouting were a development project, Jaffna would be Singapore by now.”
Sri Lanka’s Parliament is already struggling with public trust.
What it does not need is an elected representative turning the chamber into a budget comedy show at taxpayers’ expense.
The country needs debate—not decibels.
It needs arguments—not arguments with policemen.
It needs leadership—not live-streamed sideshows.
In short:
Sri Lanka deserves a Parliament, not a performance.
And if Ramanathan Arjuna continues to behave like this, then perhaps the Standing Orders aren’t the only thing in need of reform.
-By A Special Correspondent
---------------------------
by (2025-11-16 18:30:03)
Read 33828 Times
Leave a Reply
0 discussion on this news