A former minister alleges that Parliament blocked access to an internal report on alleged misconduct, raising serious questions about transparency, public funds, and the right to information.
Press Release
22 January 2026
Dear News Editor / News Director
“Don’t give information about me.” – Speaker orders parliamentary information officers
I have received information that Parliament itself has prepared a report containing several instances of corruption allegedly committed by the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, titled “Report of the investigation conducted into the disclosure of confidential information relating to Parliament to the media without permission and the disclosure of confidential information about the official residence of the Honorable Speaker to a third party and the dissemination of such information through the media.”
Accordingly,
i) Since the public has a right to know whether the Speaker has misused public funds,
ii) Since this report contains information on the administration of Parliament, such as details regarding the Speaker’s official residence, and not information pertaining to the legislative process of Parliament, the publication of this report does not violate the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act, No. 21 of 1953,
I sent a letter dated 31 October 2025 to the Information Officer of Parliament requesting a copy of the said report.
I was informed by the Assistant Secretary General and Information Officer of Parliament, Mr. Hansa Abeyratne, in a letter dated 15 November 2025, that my request was rejected.
As the refusal of my request under Section 5(1)(o) to provide a copy of the said report does not constitute a breach of parliamentary privilege, I therefore submitted a written appeal against the decision to the Secretary General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, the designated officer for access to information in Parliament, on 26 November 2025. By letter dated 19 December 2025, she informed me that my request would be rejected on the advice of the Honorable Speaker.
It is a serious matter if any information officer is compelled to conceal information or deny access under the influence of the Speaker, who is himself the subject of the investigation. This also constitutes a violation of the Right to Information Act, No. 12 of 2016.
Accordingly, I have taken steps to submit an appeal to the Right to Information Commission on 30 December 2025. A copy of the appeal submitted to the Right to Information Commission is enclosed herewith.
We believe that if the Speaker has misused public funds, the Right to Information Commission will issue an order directing the Information Officer of Parliament to release the relevant reports, thereby safeguarding the people’s right to know.
With patriotism,
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya
Udaya Gammanpila
Leader
