(Excerpted from Memories of 33 year in Parliament by Nihal Seneviratne, Retired Secretary General of Parliament)

In the Parliamentary Election held in July 1960, Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world’s first woman Prime Minister creating a world record. She began her parliamentary career with a seat in the Senate entering the House of Representatives later. It was only subsequently that women like Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Mrs. Golda Meir, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher and Mrs. Benazir Bhutto headed their respective countries.

She headed a 15 Member Cabinet which included Mr. C.P. de Silva as Minister of Lands, Dr. N.M. Perera as Minister of Finance, Felix Dias Bandaranaike as Minister of Agriculture and T.B. Ilangartne as Minister of Trade, Mr. Maithripala Senanayake as Leader of the House and Minister of Rural and Industrial Development. It was indeed a formidable Government and a strong Cabinet.

But four years later things began to get shaky for the Government and Parliament was prorogued in 1964 and a new Session of Parliament began around November that year. After the new Session was opened by the Governor-General William Gopallawa, as was customary following Westminster tradition a motion was moved in the House thanking the Governor General for opening Parliament. This is what we refer to as the Throne Speech Debate.

This is usually a two-day debate. After the Leader of the House, moved the Motion to thank His Excellency, Dr. W Dahanayake (Galle) moved the following Amendment, “…but regret that the people have no confidence in the Government as it has miserably failed to solve the pressing problems of the people, such as unemployment, the high cost of living and housing. “

Before the debate began, Speaker Hugh Fernando summoned me to his chambers and told me of his inability to be present in the House that day and requested that an alternative arrangement be made to chair the proceedings. I vehemently argued with him saying that it was a very important day in the House as a crucial vote was to be taken that evening. I argued with him for over half an hour to be present, but he insisted saying that he had some very urgent private business.

I then realized that I would have to get another government Member to preside and the government, as a result, would lose one vote in its strength. Deputy Speaker D. A. Rajapakse (Mahinda Rajapaksa’s father) chaired the proceedings. By mid-evening a story started circulating in the lobbies of Parliament which took everybody by complete surprise.

It was indeed a well-kept secret till then, but soon it transpired that J. R. Jayewardene as the Leader of the Opposition had been studiously planning and spearheading a coup in Parliament with a view defeating the Government at the conclusion of the Throne Speech Debate vote fixed for that evening. Soon we began to know that many Members of the UNP who were abroad had had been summoned to be present that day. They included E.L Senanayake who had been in London; Paris Perera was away on holiday abroad and a few others. All of them suddenly showed up in the lobbies.

But the bigger surprise of all was when soon after evening tea break when the House resumed at 4.30 p.m., C P de Silva, Minister of Land, Irrigation and Power walked into the well of the House, bowed to the Speaker and instead of taking his assigned seat on the Government front benches, moved to the Opposition side and took his seat there. A few other Members of the Government showing their loyalty to him also walked over and sat in the Opposition benches. Among them were Indrasena de Zoysa and Edmund Wijesuriya. It was no longer a rumour. Soon we found as many as 17 Members of the government party had crossed over to the opposition.

By 7 p.m. that evening the Throne Speech debate had come to an end and a vote was due to be taken. Then following recognized Parliamentary procedure, we had to put the Amendment moved by Dr. W Dahanayake to the House first. The division bells were rung for three minutes. .

As the motion with the amendment read that the House had no confidence in the Government, all Government Members shouted ‘No’ and then the Opposition Members shouted ‘Aye.’ Then, though being tired and exhausted, we called out each name and marked “Aye” and “No” on the provided voting list. We finished counting and then gave the slip with the marked votes to the Presiding Officer. A total 74 had voted “Aye” and 73 had voted “No” with the Government losing by a single vote.

I recall Maithripala Senanayake and Baduideen Mohamed seated on the Government Front benches saying forcefully, “You have counted wrong. Recount the votes.” My heart missed more than a single beat as I realized that if we had made a mistake our jobs were in jeopardy. With our hearts beating vigorously, with added caution and care, we recounted the figures as we may have in the excitement marked a wrong “Aye” or “No” on the one sheet in adjoining columns. After the recount we forwarded it to the Presiding Officer who announced the division to the House and we informed the two Members who had objected that our figures were correct.

But I reassured Government Members that following correct parliamentary procedure, the amended motion would once again be put to the House and there would be another vote soon after. Thus, the Government had every opportunity of getting one or two Members to come into the Chamber and vote with them. So, yet again, the division bells were rung for three minutes and at the end, we once again repeated calling out the names of all the Members seated.

Since the amended motion signified that the Government had lost its confidence in the House, I advised all Government Members to say “No”. By 8.30 p.m. that night we had recounted the votes and it was the identical result- 74 “Ayes” and 73 “Noes”. The Government had been unable to get just one other Member to vote with them and finally the Government lost by a single vote.

I must add here that though the Government had lost by a single vote, it was only because two or three Members of the Government-side were abroad at that moment and the Government, completely unaware that Mr. J.R. Jayewardene was planning this coup, did not arrange for their return. Dr. N.M. Perera as Minister of Finance was in USA for a meeting with the World Bank and Mr. Bernard Soysa was also out of the country.

Mrs. Bandaranaike was made well aware of the constitutional position by her advisers that she could have very easily summoned Parliament to meet on a future date and asked for a Vote of Confidence which she and the Government could well have won. But the great lady that she was, having suffered a defeat in the House, two weeks’ later dissolved Parliament on December 17. Then the General Election was held in March 1965 and the UNP were voted to power with Dudley Senanayake being sworn in as Prime Minister on March 25.

His Cabinet of 16 which included J.R. Jayewardene as Minister of State, M.D. Banda as Minister of Agriculture, U. B. Wanninayake as Minister of Finance, C.P. de Silva as Minister of Lands was sworn. Five years later in March 1970, the sixth parliament was dissolved. In the general election held in June that year, Mrs. Bandaranaike re-took power and became prime minister but seven years later, in 1977 parliamentary election, her United Front Government was routed and the UNP led by J.R. Jayewardene won with a five-sixth majority.

With the change in government there was a change in the fortunes of Mrs. Bandaranaike who was subsequently deprived of her civic rights.

How Mrs. B lost her civic rights

Soon after the new Government headed by J.R. Jayewardene was sworn in after the UNP received a five-sixth majority in the House in 1977, J.R. Jayewardene who was Prime Minister moved a Motion in the House for the appointment of a Select Committee of the House to draft and adopt a new Constitution for Sri Lanka, repealing the 1972 Constitution, which was in place till then.

I worked as an Assistant Secretary to the drafting Committee which was set up soon after the new Government started work. In drafting the Chapter on the Legislative Procedure and Powers, a new Section 81 was introduced titled “Expulsion of Members and Imposition of Civic Disability”.

During our deliberations it came to our notice that this was altogether a new Section which found no place in the Soulbury Constitution of 1948 nor in the Republican Constitution of 1972.

This new Section provided for a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry being set up consisting of a Judge of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court or District Court. They were empowered to recommend that any person should be made subject to civic disability by reason of any act done by such person. Clause 81 stated that if such person was found guilty with two-thirds of Parliament voting in favour, a civic disability on such person for a period not exceeding seven years, was going to be imposed and if such person is a Member of Parliament, for such person to be expelled.

It so happened that in August 1980, a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry was set up consisting of Hon. J.G.T. Weeraratne (Judge of the Supreme Court), Hon. S. Sharvananda (Judge of the Supreme Court) and Hon. K.C.E. de Alwis (Judge of the Appeal Court). The Commission Report was published as a Sessional Paper of 1980 and the Gazette in September 1980.

The Cabinet decided to accept the recommendations of the Commission which held that Mrs. Bandaranaike be subject to civic disability by reason of the acts done by her, which constitute abuse of power or misuse of power as set out in the Report published. After a lengthy debate, Item 2 of the Order Paper of October 16, 1980, was put to the vote and Parliament with the count being 139 Ayes: 18 Noes. Mrs. Bandaranaike declined to vote.

It was late in the night when the House adjourned. just after the vote was taken, Mrs. Bandaranaike left the Chamber and walked down the stairs of the old building to get into her car. I recall accompanying her down the stairs as the disappointed lady left the building. I felt it was part of an obligation that as she walked down the stairs alone that I accompany the ex-Prime Minister. The country’s and world’s very first lady Prime Minister was leaving the House under the most unusual circumstances. I wished her farewell. Many years later she returned to Parliament as Prime Minister.

The chapter on the imposition of civic disability on Mrs. Bandaranaike did not end there. On April 8, 1996, with her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga as the country’s new President and Mrs. Bandaranaike as Prime Minister, a Minister in her Government Hon. (Prof.) G.L. Pieris moved a Resolution outlining the circumstances which led to the Motion depriving Mrs. Bandaranaike of her Civic Rights in October 1980. He moved that : Parliament hereby resolves that the said Resolution of October 16, 1980, ought not to have been passed.

Prof Peiris winding up the Debate said a remarkable feature of this Debate had been that not a single voice was raised in opposition to the substance of the Resolution. All sections of the House that participated in the debate agreed that it is right and proper that the historic mistake, which was perpetrated on October 16 ,1980 should be rectified. When the Motion was put to the House a division was taken by name and 124 Members voted for it, none against. It should be recorded for posterity that there was just one person who declined to vote and that was none other than Mrs. Bandaranaike herself.