By Ariyaratne Ganegoda
The Municipal Mace, forcibly removed by an opposition councillor at the last session of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), will not be allowed to be deposited in the receptacle at the Council Chamber until police inquiries are concluded and the next step is announced, Deputy Mayor, Titus Perera said.
When United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Councillor Anura Sujeewakumara forcibly took the Municipal Mace on 30 July, during the general meeting, and ran away with it, Mayor, A.J.M. Muzammil and Deputy Mayor, Perera had made a complaint at the Cinnamon Gardens Police.
“We are waiting for the report of the police. Till then the Municipal Mace will not be accommodated in the Council meeting chamber,” Titus Perera told Ceylon Today.
Meanwhile Ceylon Today reliably learnt the hijacked Municipal Mace is now in the custody of the Municipal Commissioner Bhadrani Jayawardena having been returned to her by another UPFA councillor, Riza Zarook.
Mayor Muzammil has reportedly declined to accept the Mace when it was handed over to him by the Municipal Secretary H.D.C. Janaki.
Speculation is rife the UPFA group of councillors are planning to reinstall the Municipal Mace before the next General Meeting of the council which falls on 30 August.
