The Hon. K.D. Lal Kantha - Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, I intend to speak again at the end of this debate as well. Therefore, I divided my time to speak both at the beginning and the end. I am allowed to speak as much as necessary. There is no issue with that.

¶ 02 The Leader of the Opposition was here earlier. Since the Chief Organizer of the Opposition is in the Chamber now, I would like to make a request first to him. Several Members have already spoken about the prevailing disaster situation in the country, so I will not repeat that. I hear that a Division is expected at the end of today, reportedly at the request of Hon. Shanakiya Rasamanickam. If there is a Division, we will have to summon our Members, and then they will not be able to attend to essential interventions in the disaster situation. Therefore, let us record the Opposition’s protest and pass the Heads of Expenditure. We have been informed of a move to oppose the entire Vote of this Ministry, like 685669 types of objections. If possible, I request the Leader of the Opposition, through the Chief Organizer of the Opposition, to intervene and inform Hon. Rasamanickam accordingly. As far as I know, he has asked for a Division. If we can pass this Head without a Division, we can continue discussing the disaster situation and move solutions into action. The Eastern Province, which he represents, is also severely affected; schools are closed today and there are many serious issues. Large-scale disaster conditions also prevail in areas like Puttalam, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla. People expect their representatives to be with them at such times.