The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the Privilege matter raised by Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna, it is the responsibility of the Speaker and the Chair to act. However, I must clarify a point about his allegation that the “Government side” is responsible for denying him time. Allocation of Opposition speaking time is entirely the duty of the Opposition leadership — the Leader of the Opposition and Chief Opposition Whip — not ours. I have said this before in this House and privately to the Member. I also requested the Speaker to ensure that the Opposition allocates time to him, as denying an MP time is a disgrace to Parliament. As a Government, we fully support his right to speak.

¶ 02 Regarding committees, we have nominated him to various committees. At the Joint AGM of IPU, CPA, and SAARC Parliamentarians’ Association held yesterday, many Opposition parties had not nominated their Members. We have evidence that in some committees nine Opposition seats remain unfilled, while only one or two parties have sent names. We even proposed Members from other parties, including from the Pohottuwa, to ensure representation. Therefore, the Speaker and senior officials must address Hon. Archchuna’s issue, or else he will continue to raise it, disrupting Parliament.

¶ 03 On other matters reported in the media relating to traffic violations or warrants, there has been no Government interference. If an MP is to be arrested, the Speaker should be informed — that is the proper procedure, irrespective of ethnicity. We are committed to genuine national unity. I have already obtained the procedure from the Leader of the House’s Office to brief the Member, if needed.