Dayasiri bets his seat in parliament

Kurunegala District UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera yesterday vowed to resign from Parliament if the facts he had submitted to the House, on a prevailing drug shortage and lack of facilities at the Maharagama Cancer Hospital were proved wrong.Jayasekera said that 17 different drugs used to treat cancer patients were in short supply at the hospital. There was a lack of facilities needed to carry out iodine tests on cancer patients. Some patients had been asked to wait till March 2016 to undergo the tests, the MP said.


Deputy Health Minister Lalith Dissanayaka denied there were any such shortages or patients being wait-listed. He said that sometimes there were delays due to orders not being placed on time. The ministry had supplied medicine to patients, including drugs that were very expensive, he said.

However, MP Jayasekera said he would not accept that answer. "You can inquire from the head of Maharagama Cancer Hospital and check for yourself whether the facts I stated are wrong. If the facts I have stated are wrong, I will resign from my seat in Parliament," he said.