The Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, under Standing Order 23, I raise a matter of procedure. “Business of the House” proceeds with the agreement of the House. Even if the Order Paper items are completed, remaining items and time allocation are decided with the agreement of both sides. When the Speaker asks the Leader of the House about the time to conduct business and it is agreed by the House with “Aye,” we must sit till 5.00 p.m. Do not break parliamentary tradition by curtailing speaking time and adjourning early.

¶ 02 Since there was no specific Motion fixing another time, we should proceed as agreed. Please ensure Members on both Government and Opposition lists get their allotted time.

¶ 03 On the Regulations under the Anti-Corruption Act: you claim to be combating corruption while granting favours to cronies. Recently, a 50 MW wind power tender was cancelled, disadvantaging the State, to benefit a person linked both to the Rajapaksa camp and to Ranil Wickremesinghe’s circle—well known for the bond scam history. Contract conditions included performance/security to protect the State, but Cabinet reportedly facilitated a return to the same party. If you do this while preaching anti-corruption, you are deceiving the people.

¶ 04 Respect is due to NPP backbenchers who speak earnestly, but remember what befell the “Viyath Maga” technocrats who brought in Gotabaya—within two and a half years the public rejected them. Do not repeat that.

¶ 05 Further, questions arise from a deed tabled by Hon. Archchuna: a property valued at Rs. 50 million recorded at Rs. 5 million—who paid, was it an entity under the Ministry of Trade? These are the real issues. The Government behaves like a pickpocket shouting “thief!” to distract while stealing—exactly like Pettah pickpockets.

¶ 06 On sugar and salt: manipulation of imports harmed domestic production and industry. You also restrict the independent media by refusing access to press conferences unless they are compliant. If the media had no freedom in the past, the NPP/JVP could not have risen to power.

¶ 07 I conclude by urging the Justice Minister: you corrected some misstatements in the media, but you must also explain how these Regulations will be implemented in practice. The public expects real, ground-level results. We will support genuine steps that meet those expectations. Thank you.