The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake
Hon. Bimal Rathnayake defended the existing procedure for scheduling oral questions and Private Members’ Motions, stating that it follows an agreed process of the Committee on Parliamentary Business and the Standing Orders. He said Parliament can generally answer about 10 oral questions within the allocated time and urged adherence to the established practice, while noting that the Government is encouraging Ministers to provide answers and has reported on its performance.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, Hon. Ravi Karunanayake is a senior Member. For 25 years I have observed the same practice. Members submit thousands of questions and we have a fair, scientific procedure agreed at the Committee on Parliamentary Business. The same procedure is used for Private Members’ Motions as you approved. We can answer around 10 oral questions within the allocated time; Parliament does not sit only for questions. We have not changed anything. I kindly request that we adhere to the agreed practice. The Government side strives to answer; Ministers are being encouraged to do so. I have reported to you on Government-side performance in answering questions. The scheduling and limits are per the Standing Orders.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 27 November 2025 ·No. 23013 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 27 November 2025. No. 23013. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/5240