The Hon. Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 We were accused that some MPs sold public office. Have you ever seen Members of Parliament selling their parliamentary seats? It has happened in Sri Lanka; there are such Members even in this Parliament today. I do not think anyone in history did such a thing. Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, even if accusations are made against us, these MP posts are not great privileges for us. When 41 of our Members were elected earlier, we relinquished two MP posts. Thereafter, with regard to Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe’s matter—

¶ 02 Some shout and ask what this is. There was a media briefing claiming one was leaving politics to teach their children and then, under the table, a deal was done. The person who took that deal said he would not engage in politics. The MP had only one and a half months left; only one and a half months of tenure remained.

¶ 03 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I did not name anyone. If someone puts the cap on and shouts, what am I to do? The whole world saw it—he sold his MP post saying he needed to teach his children. After selling the seat, I ask the Minister of Justice whether such conduct is covered within these Regulations under the Anti-Corruption Act.

¶ 04 Especially under the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023, together with these Regulations, today we are properly mandated by the people. What is our people’s mandate? To catch the thieves. We are accountable to the people’s mandate to catch thieves.

¶ 05 We have obtained the people’s mandate three times—at the Presidential Election, the Parliamentary General Election, and the Local Government Election. Each time, we said we would catch thieves. When we said we would catch thieves, the Opposition accused us of a political witch-hunt. Now what is happening? The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption is independent; the Attorney General’s Department is independent; the Criminal Investigation Department is independent. Within that independence, actions are being taken. Several former Cabinet Ministers are in custody today. This is not trivial. Those who were in politics for over two and a half decades are now in custody. Singing different songs in response is natural. We say to the Opposition: do not twist this into a political song with false notes. There must be a limit to socializing lies. We will answer everything with documentary evidence. The “Containers 323” matter is now before court. On the North Central Provincial Council vehicle auction, the Opposition made various claims; now they themselves are having to withdraw those, accepting they were blatant lies.

¶ 06 The Opposition is losing its political talking points. I saw a Member claiming that Ranjan Jayalal slipped and fell, and they treat that as a massive crime. Those who swallowed worse are now complaining about a simple slip. We remind the Opposition there must be limits to spreading lies. We will challenge every lie before the law. Some Members must learn how to conduct themselves in the Chamber. This is not the old Parliament. We have created a Parliament where a child in the public gallery can sit and watch proceedings. Insulting language has been stopped in this House; accept that.

¶ 07 Thank you.