The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you. It has been 64 days since this new Parliament commenced its sittings, and 36 days since I lodged a complaint regarding a breach of my Parliamentary privilege. An elected Member must be allotted time to speak on behalf of the people — that is why proportional allocation exists. Despite my complaint about not being given time to speak for 36 days, this is the first time I am allowed to raise it in the House. I waited 64 days to state my position regarding the Government.

¶ 02 Committees were set up swiftly for other matters, but for my complaint — simply asking for speaking time — no Committee has been established, nor has it been examined, even after 36 days. I want this recorded clearly so our Tamil people fully understand: if, for 64 days, a Member is not given time to speak, it is a disgraceful act by the Government. I have been waiting 36 days for either an allocation of time or, at least, a Committee to find out why time has not been allocated. Why are they afraid? How is this fair?

¶ 03 I also state that from today I will withdraw any support I provided to this Government and will act as a true Opposition Member. Twenty-four cases have been filed against me. As a doctor, I never had even a private complaint lodged. I am even arrested for driving with headlights on. Would this happen if I were a Sinhalese MP? Even when I showed Parliament-issued documents, security officers at PC/Sergeant level said they were photocopies.