The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I rise to a Point of Order under Standing Order 31.

¶ 02 As Chair of the Committee on Public Finance, I note a discrepancy. The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara asked a question to the Minister of Energy; the Minister said there was no large profit at the CEB and dismissed such claims. However, the Mid-Year Fiscal Position Report 2024, approved and debated in this House, shows on page 360 a CEB profit of Rs. 119 billion as at 30 June; and Government later presented a figure of Rs. 139 billion up to October. Either the CEB has misled the Minister, or the Finance Ministry has misled this House. I table extracts from Erskine May (para 15.27) and Kaul & Shakdher’s Practice and Procedure of Parliament (Lok Sabha Secretariat) regarding misleading the House.

¶ 03 If it was an honest mistake, it can be corrected. If deliberate, it is a matter of privilege. I request that this be rectified and the relevant statements be Hansarded.