Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna Kaviratne has called for the immediate appointment of a special Parliamentary committee to investigate a controversial remark made by Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake, which she claimed endangered her personal safety and violated her parliamentary privileges.
Raising a privilege issue in Parliament on Thursday (24), Kaviratne alleged that Rathnayake’s comment during the previous day’s session—“these are the daughters of those murderers who are here today”—was a targeted political attack aimed squarely at her.
“I am the only MP here who is a daughter of a former Matale District MP. This statement was meant to incite hatred and put my life at risk,” she told the House.
The remark came amid a heated exchange over Kaviratne’s questioning of the Government regarding the continued closure of the road near the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy.
Rathnayake responded by referencing the 1989 Temple attack and the discovery of a mass grave in Matale—allegedly tied to political violence during that era—accusing unnamed MPs of familial ties to perpetrators.
Kaviratne rejected the insinuation, asserting that her father was not involved in violence but was remembered by the public as “a man who helped others live.”
She further stated that the Speaker and law enforcement, including Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya, had been informed of ongoing harassment, but no protection measures had yet been taken.
“This is not just about me. There are 22 women in this Parliament. This is an attack on all of us,” she said, warning that such rhetoric promotes political hatred and misogyny.
Kaviratne also urged the removal of Rathnayake’s statement from the Hansard and called for a proper investigation into the Matale mass grave, rather than using it “to destroy” her political career.
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