Ministers are constitutionally bound by law to provide information to the parliament when asked about an agreement, former Prime Minister-elect of the Colombo District (UNP) Ranil Wickremesinghe said today.Joining the first day debate of the second reading of the budget he pointed out this fact
MP Ranil Wickramasinghe further said that
Under Article 43 of the Constitution, Ministers are collectively accountable to Parliament. It is implemented under Article 4, Sub-Article 3. Parliament has jurisdiction over parliamentary matters.
“I would like to talk about agreements that prevent ministers from giving information to Parliament.
It has also been stated that all the powers of Parliament should be decided by Parliament. Accordingly, in addition to the powers and privileges granted by the Parliament Act, we also have the rights of Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It also states that all those privileges and rights are part of the common law of the land” said Ranil Wickremesinghe.
