No-Confidence Motion against Dy Defence Minister can’t be accepted in present form – Speaker

The Speaker of Parliament (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne today (10) informed the House that the No-Confidence motion submitted by the Opposition against Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera is not in order and cannot be accepted in its present form.

The Speaker stated that the motion was carefully considered in light of the provisions of the Constitution, the Standing Orders of Parliament, and established parliamentary practices and presedence. 

“I also studied the traditions and procedures followed in other Commonwealth and democratic legislatures, such as the UK House of Commons, India’s Lok Sabha, and Australia’s House of Representatives in this regard,” he said.

“Under articles 42, 43, and 44 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, collective and individual ministerial responsibilities lie with Cabinet Ministers. A Deputy Minister, though a Member of Parliament, is not a member of the Cabinet and does not bear direct constitutional responsibility to this House in the present context.”

“The Constitution clearly recognizes that a Motion of No Confidence may be brought against the Government as a whole, while the precedent recognizes No-Confidence Motions against the Prime Minister, or an individual Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. However, there is no provision for such a motion against a Deputy Minister,” he stated.

“Therefore, if such a motion is to be accepted today, it would establish an undesirable precedent contrary to constitutional and parliamentary precedents.

Accordingly, having taken all these facts into consideration, I wish to inform this House that the Motion of No-Confidence against Deputy Defence Minister is not in order and cannot be accepted in its present form,” the Speaker added.