The Hon. D.V. Chanaka

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, thank you for the opportunity.

¶ 02 Before the main subject, I must raise an issue. Yesterday, under parliamentary privilege, continuous allegations were hurled from the government side at our group leader Namal Rajapaksa. Only one Deputy Minister, Hon. Sunil Watawala, is present now, so I raise this. He publicly said outside Parliament that Namal Rajapaksa was behind drug networks and displayed photos. Therefore, Namal Rajapaksa has already taken legal action and sent a letter of demand. I will forward it to you as he is in the Chamber. Do not be hasty; we will send more if needed — if not, we can get them from Pelawatte.

¶ 03 Hon. Nihal Galappaththi, please take this outside Parliament, where there is no privilege. Ministers Wasantha Samarasinghe and Mahinda Jayasinghe were present yesterday. Many MPs I do not even know made allegations against Namal Rajapaksa. This is the challenge for the Pohottuwa: if you can, say it outside. Hon. Nihal Galappaththi, come say it outside. Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe and Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe — we will take the necessary legal steps against the Deputy Minister in charge of Police.