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

Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna

Samagi Jana Balawegaya· Gampaha· 4 March 2025 ·Procedural: Personal Explanations

Corruption & Governance Reform
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Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna denied an allegation made by a Deputy Minister that he had obtained a petrol shed through political connections, stating that he does not own one and that a petrol shed once owned by his grandfather no longer exists. He said his relatives are engaged in legitimate businesses and rejected claims of improper acquisition through political influence. He also objected to implications based on a shared surname with the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and urged Deputy Ministers to make responsible statements.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, thank you. Yesterday, a Deputy Minister mentioned my name, alleging I obtained a petrol shed through political connections.

¶ 02 I state clearly this is untrue. I do not own a petrol shed. Like Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka said, before I was born my grandfather had a petrol shed — that too no longer exists. He obtained it even before my parents married. Our relatives are businesspeople engaged in various enterprises. Please stop spreading rumours that everything is via political connections. Our relatives can run businesses of their choice. I have never obtained any petrol shed through political connections. If such exists, please show me. We have not acquired anything improperly.

¶ 03 Also, some cite my surname: there is a “Rajakaruna” as Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Must he resign because he shares my surname? Therefore, I state clearly: I do not own a petrol shed via political influence. Deputy Ministers must be responsible in their statements.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Tuesday, 4 March 2025 ·No. 1742359468086980 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Page · column
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Permalink
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Cite as: Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 4 March 2025. No. 1742359468086980. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/10333