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 was not in order and therefore could not be accepted in its present form.
The Speaker explained that the motion had been carefully reviewed in line with the Constitution, the Standing Orders of Parliament, and established parliamentary practices and precedents. He also noted that traditions followed in other Commonwealth and democratic legislatures, including the UK House of Commons, India’s Lok Sabha, and Australia’s House of Representatives, were taken into consideration.
Citing Articles 42, 43, and 44 of the Constitution, Dr. Wickramaratne pointed out that ministerial responsibility lies with Cabinet Ministers. While a Deputy Minister is a Member of Parliament, he said, they are not part of the Cabinet and do not bear direct constitutional responsibility to Parliament in the present context.
“The Constitution allows for a Motion of No Confidence against the Government as a whole, the Prime Minister, an individual Cabinet Minister, or the Leader of the Opposition. However, there is no provision for such a motion against a Deputy Minister,” he stated.
The Speaker further emphasized that accepting such a motion would set an undesirable precedent, contrary to both constitutional provisions and parliamentary practice.
“Accordingly, having taken all these facts into consideration, I wish to inform this House that the Motion of No Confidence against the Deputy Defence Minister is not in order and cannot be accepted in its present form,” he concluded.
