Hon. Mujibur Rahuman

Samagi Jana Balawegaya· Colombo· 11 September 2025 ·Procedural: Procedural Matters and No-Confidence Motion Dispute

Parliamentary Procedure

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Hon. Mujibur Rahuman objected to the Speaker’s rejection of a No-Confidence Motion against the Deputy Minister of Defence, arguing that the Standing Orders do not prohibit such a motion and that the Deputy Minister exercises executive functions, including answering on behalf of the President and acting in defence-related capacities. He said the motion was politically relevant in light of issues being raised about the Deputy Minister’s role concerning the Easter bombings, and contended that blocking it was a political decision despite the Government’s parliamentary majority.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, in rejecting this No-Confidence Motion, you cited that there is no tradition of bringing a No-Confidence Motion against a Deputy Minister, nor do the Standing Orders provide for it. Nowhere in the Standing Orders is it stated who may or may not be subjected to a No-Confidence Motion.

¶ 02 Further, the Deputy Minister of Defence answers questions in Parliament on behalf of the President. When the President travels abroad, the Deputy Minister of Defence has, in effect, functioned as Acting Minister of Defence, visiting military camps and relevant institutions. He thus forms part of the Executive and enjoys all the privileges accorded to a Minister. There is no basis to say a No-Confidence Motion cannot be brought against such a person.

¶ 03 Let me conclude briefly. You have a majority of 159. Even if we win the No-Confidence Motion, his post is not automatically void; only the President can remove him. Therefore, this is a political issue. Since matters concerning his role regarding the Easter bombings are being exposed, you have taken a political decision to block the No-Confidence Motion. That is wrong. Do not do that.

Provenance

Source: Hansard, Thursday, 11 September 2025 ·No. 1758278142029989 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Permalink: /lk/speeches/1052

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Cite as: Hon. Mujibur Rahuman. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 11 September 2025. No. 1758278142029989. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/1052