The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna

¶ 01 Good morning! Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker, for granting me this opportunity to raise a matter of Privilege.

¶ 02 Sir, I raise this matter of Privilege calling for an impartial inquiry regarding statements made by the Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development. I submitted it to you, Sir, formally requesting to raise this matter of Parliamentary Privilege and for initiating an impartial inquiry into a serious incident that occurred during the Parliamentary Sitting held on 22nd May, 2025.

¶ 03 During his speech, the Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Member of Parliament and Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development made false, baseless and defamatory allegations against me. He claimed that I had requested that salt produced in the Northern Province, particularly from the Elephant Pass Saltern, be not transported to the Sinhala community. Furthermore, he alleged that I was promoting racism in connection with this issue of salt production.

¶ 04 I categorically and unequivocally deny those statements. I have never made such a request or propagated any form of racial sentiment regarding the matter. These allegations are entirely fabricated and malicious, intended to damage my reputation as a Representative of the Tamil minority and to incite communal disharmony.

¶ 05 The Hon. Sunil Handunnetti’s actions constitute a clear breach of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament as well as a violation of the Standing Orders of Parliament. Moreover, by spreading false and defamatory statements under the protection of Parliamentary Privilege, he has violated the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act, misusing the platform of Parliament to tarnish the image of a fellow Member of Parliament.

¶ 06 Sir, I respectfully urge your office to: 1. Raise this issue as a matter of Privilege in the House at the earliest opportunity. 2. Institute an impartial inquiry into the conduct and statements made by the Hon. Sunil Handunnetti. 3. Take appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act and the Standing Orders to uphold the dignity and integrity of Parliament.

¶ 07 This is not only an issue of personal defamation, but also a matter concerning the credibility of Parliamentary Proceedings and the trust the public places in our democratic institution. Such unfounded allegations cannot be allowed to set a precedent in the hallowed chambers of Parliament. I am available to provide further clarification or submit any required documentation, if necessary.

¶ 08 Thank you, Sir, for giving attention to this serious matter. I trust in your impartiality and commitment to uphold integrity of Parliament.

¶ 09 The second thing I wish to mention, Sir, is that I have raised another Privilege issue earlier. You told me that it will be forwarded to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges. That was regarding the Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, but that has not yet been forwarded to the Committee. Please forward that Privilege matter along with this to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Sir.