Hon. (Mrs.) Saroja Savithri Paulraj

Minister Paulraj clarified that the appointment of the Executive Director of the Women's Committee is not within her ministerial authority, explaining that under the relevant Act, appointments are made through the Presidential Secretariat by the President, with the Ministry only forwarding nominations. She noted that the Women's Committee is an institution registered under her Ministry, established under legislation aimed at women's empowerment and the creation of a National Commission on Women. The Minister directed this clarification specifically at the Leader of the Opposition, emphasizing that the appointment in question does not rest with her.

It looks like the speech content you'd like summarized may be incomplete — only the opening line ("Mr. Speaker, please allow me to present my reply.") has been provided, without the substantive content of the speech. Could you please share the full text of the speech? I'd be happy to provide a concise, neutral summary once I have the complete content.

The speech provided is too brief and incomplete to summarize meaningfully. The text only contains a partial sentence in which the speaker, Hon. (Mrs.) Saroja Savithri Paulraj, appears to be addressing the Leader of the Opposition on an unspecified matter. No substantive argument, proposal, or policy position is discernible from the available text.

## Summary The Minister of Women and Child Affairs addressed concerns regarding the National Commission on Women's operational status and independence. She clarified that the former Chairperson's resignation was appropriately directed to the President via the Constitutional Council process, not the Ministry, and therefore the Ministry was not privy to the reasons for her departure. On budgetary matters, the Minister explained that an additional allocation of Rs. 50 million was secured for the Commission for 2026 through the National Budget Department, with further funds to be obtained via Supplementary Estimate, noting that the Commission had not yet been constituted when the original May 2025 budget submissions were prepared. She confirmed that an Executive Director was appointed effective 7 January 2026 and has since been undertaking preparatory work, including sourcing office premises. Responding to apparent opposition concerns about institutional independence, the Minister defended the temporary use of space within the Urban Development Authority building at Sethi Siripaya — currently occupied by her Ministry — as a practical interim measure, arguing that physical proximity to a Ministry does not constitute interference with a commission's constitutional independence. She further stated that Ministry staff are providing transitional administrative support only until the Commission recruits its own permanent cadre, for which approval from the Department of Management Services has been obtained.

Minister Paulraj responded to questions raised by the Leader of the Opposition under Standing Order 27(2) on 3 February 2026, clarifying the legal status of the National Commission on Women. She explained that the Commission is not gazetted under her Ministry, but rather established as an independent institution under the Women's Empowerment Act No. 37 of 2024, which replaced the former Women's Committee that had previously operated under the Ministry. The Minister outlined that the Commission's 23 statutory functions include investigating women's rights violations and receiving complaints under Part XI of the Act, and affirmed that the Government recognises and upholds the Commission's independence.

## Summary Minister Paulraj spoke in support of the Parliamentary Pensions (Abolition) Bill, framing it as the fulfillment of a central electoral promise to end MPs' pension entitlements. She argued that the existing scheme, rooted in the 1977 No. 1 Act and its subsequent amendments, had expanded well beyond its original scope to become a hereditary benefit covering spouses and future generations, and that elected representatives serving five-year terms have no legitimate claim to such entitlements. The Minister cited a range of government achievements over the preceding eighteen months — including housing construction, plantation wage increases, public sector recruitment, reallocation of the Presidential Fund toward children's welfare, and improvements to transport and health services — as evidence of a broader shift in political culture. She rejected proposed amendments to retain or extend pension benefits and dismissed Opposition arguments as motivated by divisiveness, concluding that the Government would proceed with abolition as a demonstration of democratic accountability.