The Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I seek two minutes to state the Opposition’s view on the important Statement by the Hon. Minister.

¶ 02 Recently, two Ministries’ subjects were changed and split into three. When the Appropriation Bill was presented, there were 24 Cabinet Ministries; after this revision, it increased to 25. I had formally requested the Government Chief Whip to hold a discussion with relevant officials on possible legal and technical issues arising in relation to the Appropriation Bill due to the Cabinet reshuffle. Yesterday, former Minister of Finance Hon. Ravi Karunanayake and the Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance, Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, also expressed their views in this House.

¶ 03 I must also note that the Government Chief Organizer convened all officials yesterday evening at the Office of the Leader of the House. I, Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, and the Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition participated. We pointed out that legal and technical issues linked to the presentation of the Appropriation Bill alongside the Cabinet reshuffle could arise. We reached a consensus that, given the existing Cabinet approval, the Committee Stage program could proceed.

¶ 04 Article 78(3) of the Constitution states: “Any amendment proposed in Parliament to a Bill shall not be inconsistent with the principle and the merits of the Bill.”

¶ 05 Accordingly, we raised observations about the possibility of a legal issue. The Government undertook responsibility for the legal background. Let me emphasize: the legal responsibility lies with the Government, not the Opposition.