Claiming that it was the third time that he had participated in the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Parliamentarian Mahindananda Aluthgamage said today that three MPs from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) too were invited to join the tour.

He told Parliament that SJB MPs Vadivel Suresh, Moneragala District MP W.H.M. Dharmasena and Polonnaruwa District MP Kins Nelson were invited to attend the event and that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa had prevented the two MPs Dharmasena and Nelson from attending the event.

“MP Dharmasena had received visas also. But, the Opposition Leader has appealed to them not to go,” he said.

The MP said two MPs from the government side and one MP representing the minority parties were also invited to attend the event.

“I have attended the UN General Assembly three times during the time of former President Chandrika Kumaratunge, Mahinda Rajapksa and now under President Ranil Wickremesinghe. We, as MPs must get an exposure to such international events. We gained experience and learnt lots of things by attending the meetings. We had the opportunity to sit for meetings with World Bank representatives and Samantha Power,” he said.

He said they did not receive any Per Diem or Boarding Allowance Travel Allowance (BATA) for attending the event as claimed by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.

“We got only the air ticket from the government,” he said.(Ajith Siriwardana dn Yohan perera)