The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law
Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara objected to a Member being questioned by the CID over remarks made in Parliament, arguing that parliamentary speech should not be subject to such action. He said a privilege matter should first be allowed to be raised in the House and then considered by the Speaker, rather than being referred to the Police before the Member can present it. He requested that Members’ legal and parliamentary rights to raise privilege issues be protected.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 If you read my whole Question of Privilege, you would see that I raised questions about other MPs as well. The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna also has an issue—he said something in Parliament and was summoned and questioned. That is wrong; they cannot do that. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we do not object to going to the CID. But my point is this: action was taken regarding a speech he made inside Parliament.
¶ 02 What has happened now? When he asked to raise a Privilege matter here, he was not allowed. Usually, when a Privilege issue is to be raised, the Member is allowed to read it, and then the Speaker decides whether to entertain it. But now the Speaker has referred it to the Police. This is like asking a thief’s mother. Please do not remove our legal rights. Allow us to present it; then decide whether to refer it or not. We have no issue with that. Let us present it.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Friday, 11 July 2025 ·No. 1753082553092748 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 11 July 2025. No. 1753082553092748. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/21088