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Sri Lanka
10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, M.P.

Jathika Jana balawegaya (JJB)· National List

Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and Leader of the House of Parliament

Profession: Politician

Roster profile ↗
Speeches 1,262 #1 of 225·#1 in party
Attendance 8/8 days present (of recorded)
Top topic Parliamentary Procedure 955 speeches
Last spoke 10 June 2026 in Debate

Activity by sitting

140 sittings · counts only, no scoring.

Topic focus

AI summary AI-assigned tags, 1–3 per speech. Counts only — not a score.

Speech history

1,262 speeches
  • 18 November 2025 AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake raised a procedural concern about time management, stating that any excess time used by the Chair should be deducted from the relevant side and not from the Government’s allotted time. He also emphasized that, during the Committee Stage, replies should be made by the relevant Ministers as a matter of parliamentary practice, and urged the Presiding Member to take the next procedural step when a Member continues speaking after being asked to stop. Committee Stage Debate: Appropriation Bill 2026 - Defence and Public Security Expenditure Heads Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 18 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake stated that security professionals are already addressing the relevant tasks, while acknowledging the concern that they may not be carried out properly. He asked the Member, as someone who had been in government, to provide a basic or substantial list of identified lands so they could be referred to security experts. He also requested that the relevant circular be sent to him and to the Minister of Defence. Committee Stage Debate: Appropriation Bill 2026 - Defence and Public Security Expenditure Heads Land & HousingSecurity & Defence Read →
  • 18 November 2025 AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake challenged the Opposition to present a general policy proposal on which categories of land should remain under State ownership, noting that their side had governed for a longer period. The intervention sought clarification of the Opposition’s policy position on State land retention. Committee Stage Debate: Appropriation Bill 2026 - Defence and Public Security Expenditure Heads Land & Housing Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary Moved that the privilege matter raised on 13 November 2025 by Hon. (Dr.) Nishantha Samarawira, concerning alleged breach of privilege of the Committee on Public Enterprises and of Parliament, be referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges under Standing Order 118. The motion was put to the House and agreed to. Procedural - Privilege Motion and Main Business Announcement Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary On behalf of the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies, Bimal Rathnayake requested two weeks to provide an answer to the question. The question was accordingly ordered to stand down. Oral Questions and Supplementaries (Q.1-Q.4 and Standing Order 27(2) Question) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake stated that Ravi Karunanayake’s question was appearing on the Order Paper for the first time and would be answered on the scheduled date under normal parliamentary procedure. The question was ordered to stand down. Oral Questions and Supplementaries (Q.1-Q.4 and Standing Order 27(2) Question) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake stated that he was not aware of the matter being referred to. Oral Questions and Supplementaries (Q.1-Q.4 and Standing Order 27(2) Question) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake briefly confirmed that the matter being referred to was occurring for the first time. No further substantive argument, proposal, or policy position was stated in the excerpt. Oral Questions and Supplementaries (Q.1-Q.4 and Standing Order 27(2) Question) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake stated that the question had appeared on the Order Paper for the first time that day and therefore there had been no undue delay. He noted that the Minister had already informed Parliament that an answer would be provided within two weeks. Oral Questions and Supplementaries (Q.1-Q.4 and Standing Order 27(2) Question) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary On behalf of the Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, a request was made for two weeks’ time to respond to the question raised. Oral Questions and Supplementaries (Q.1-Q.4 and Standing Order 27(2) Question) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 17 November 2025 AI summary On behalf of the Minister of Science and Technology, Bimal Rathnayake presented the 2021 Annual Report of the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology. He moved that the report be referred to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Science, Technology and Digital Transformation, and the motion was agreed to. Papers - Annual Reports and Committee Reports Tabled Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary A procedural motion was moved for the Committee to report progress and seek leave to sit again. The motion was agreed to, and the Committee reported progress with proceedings scheduled to resume on Monday, 17 November 2025. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake said concerns about alleged injustice to parliamentary staff predated the current process and included representations made in 2022 regarding the removal of the Chief Officer post from the executive level. He questioned the propriety of an earlier one-person restructuring committee led by an officer who had himself raised grievances and was linked to related litigation, noting that about Rs. 2 million had been paid for that work. He stated that the Staff Advisory Committee instead appointed a three-member panel of senior public administrators on 27 February 2025, with broad participation including the Opposition, to review the staff structure in line with government circulars. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Justice & Human RightsParliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake requested that his allotted speaking time be extended from 15 minutes to 20 minutes, stating that he had originally been given 20 minutes but it had been reduced. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake outlined expenditure reductions in the Office of the Leader of the House, citing savings in 2024 and 2025 allocations and additional revenue from selling two official vehicles above valuation under the Government’s policy on disposing of luxury state vehicles. He said the offices of the Leader of the House, Chief Government Whip and Leader of the Opposition carry significant parliamentary workload, but have avoided unnecessary recruitment and controlled staff costs despite salary increases. He also questioned the distribution and usefulness of overseas travel opportunities within Parliament, noting that an officer from the Leader of the House’s office was sent abroad for the first time and urging the Chair to intervene to ensure fairer and more productive use of such opportunities. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Public FinanceParliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected by all communities and that the Cabinet collectively represents and safeguards the rights of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and Malays. He argued that future leadership should emerge regardless of ethnicity or gender, and told Hon. Imran that many of his aspirations may be realised in this or the next Parliament. Referring to the expenditure heads for the President’s Office, the Leader of the House’s Office and Parliament, he said the Government has a mandate to reduce privileges, forego perks and remove unnecessary facilities. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Parliamentary ProcedurePublic FinanceEthnic Reconciliation & Devolution Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake responded to claims that no Tamil or Muslim experts had been appointed to the Archaeology Advisory Committee, stating that scholars from Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities are represented. He named Prof. V. Maheshwaran, Prof. B.A. Hussenmia and Mr. Ratna Chelupillai Mayuranandan among the appointees, and said the relevant Minister had indicated that two additional special expert committees are expected to be appointed. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Religion & CultureEthnic Reconciliation & Devolution Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake stated that membership of the Archaeological Advisory Committee was not selected on ethnic lines, but included three scholars from the relevant backgrounds to his recollection. He said many scholars were reluctant to serve because of past negative experiences, and that Minister Ramalingam Chandraseker had worked to secure their participation. He invited proposals to add more suitable members if possible. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Ethnic Reconciliation & Devolution Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary Bimal Rathnayake indicated that 10 minutes would be allocated to Hon. Gayantha, repeating the decision on speaking time. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
  • 15 November 2025 AI summary The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake requested that a member be allotted 10 minutes to speak. The intervention concerned the allocation of speaking time in the parliamentary proceedings. Debate: Committee Stage - Appropriation Bill 2026, Special Spending Units (Heads 1, 2, 4-11, 13, 16-25) Parliamentary Procedure Read →