Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament
Minister Bimal Rathnayake stated that the Government was prepared to face any motion brought according to parliamentary procedure and approved by the Speaker, but argued that the current attempt was wasting Parliament’s time. He cited a 2007 precedent involving a motion against Hon. Mervyn Silva, noting that former Speaker Joseph Michael Perera did not allow it to proceed as a No-Confidence Motion because the member concerned was a State Minister rather than a Cabinet Minister. The speech was interrupted when Opposition Members entered the Well of the House and caused an uproar.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on the very day they presented this motion, we clearly stated that under parliamentary procedure, in the manner approved by the Speaker, bring any motion; we are ready to face it. What we see today is an attempt to waste the time of Parliament because they could not proceed as they wished.
¶ 02 Let me read from Volume 3 of the Parliamentary Practice and the connected Supplement, Tuesday, 2nd October 2007. It records this motion:
¶ 03 “Hon. M. Joseph Michael Perera: The conduct of Hon. (Dr.) Mervyn Silva, Minister of Labour — Whereas the conduct of Hon. Mervyn Silva, Member of Parliament, is unbecoming of a Member of this Parliament and brings this august Assembly into disrepute, and whereas he has publicly stated to the entire Sri Lankan public through the media that he could do whatever he likes with his licensed pistol, and whereas he has intimidated officers of the Canadian High Commission over a visa matter to secure a visa for his son, this Assembly condemns the said conduct of this Member.”
¶ 04 This motion was placed in the Library. Hon. Joseph Michael Perera was a former Speaker. At that time, Hon. Mervyn Silva was a State Minister, not a Cabinet Minister. Therefore, Hon. Joseph Michael Perera, as Speaker, did not allow it to be debated as a No-Confidence Motion. Subsequently—
¶ 05 [At this stage, some Members of the Opposition walked into the Well of the House and created an uproar.]
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Thursday, 11 September 2025 ·No. 1758278142029989 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 11 September 2025. No. 1758278142029989. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/1058