MP Rasamanickam says selective scrutiny and pre-judgment of COPE findings risk undermining due process and public trust
By The Pulseline News Desk
Batticaloa District member of parliament (MP) Shanakiyan Rasamanickam has warned that the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), which is a key oversight body for state institutions, must not be allowed to become a tool for political targeting, calling instead for impartiality, consistency and respect for due process in how it operates.
In a post on X, Rasamanickam has said that while COPE remains vital to ensuring accountability in public enterprises, there was growing concern that its reports were increasingly being used to publicly condemn individuals and institutions before investigations had run their course.
“Once a COPE report is tabled in Parliament, it should not be used to publicly condemn individuals or institutions before investigations are completed and before any court of law has determined liability,” he has said, adding that due process and the presumption of innocence “are fundamental principles that must be respected.”
Selective scrutiny?
Rasamanickam has also flagged what he described as inconsistencies in how COPE selects matters for inquiry, arguing that some issues attract sustained attention while others of comparable or greater significance are quietly sidelined.
Drawing on his own tenure on a previous COPE Committee, he has pointed to his earlier exposure of large non-performing loan portfolios at the Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, and the National Savings Bank – cases he said involved billions of rupees in public funds but have since faded from public discussion.
“Yet today, these issues appear to have disappeared from the national conversation, while other matters are selectively prioritised,” he has said.
Integrity of the process, not just the findings
The MP has argued that public confidence in COPE hinges not only on the substance of its reports but on the fairness of the process used to decide what gets investigated in the first place. He called for every allegation of corruption, fraud, or financial mismanagement to be pursued with equal rigour, “without fear or favour.”
“COPE must remain an independent oversight mechanism, not a forum for political targeting,” Rasamanickam has said. “Equal standards, transparency in case selection, and respect for due process are essential to preserving public trust in Parliament’s oversight role.”
COPE, along with the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), forms the backbone of Sri Lanka’s parliamentary financial oversight system, empowered to summon officials and scrutinise the finances of state institutions and enterprises.
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