The Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana

## Summary Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana responded to claims made by the Leader of the House regarding a phone call he made to the Fisheries Minister (Hon. Ramalingam Chandraseker) on behalf of stake-net fishermen who had been protesting outside the Presidential Secretariat for five days without food. He clarified that he called the Minister using a fisherman's phone (Mr. Rukmal Tushara Liyvera) when he could not reach the Minister directly, providing both phone numbers as evidence, and demanded the Leader of the House verify facts before making allegations. He also called on the Government to resolve the stake-net fishermen's grievances, challenging the claim that their nets damage coral reefs as technically implausible. More broadly, he cautioned the Government against political arrogance, warned of declining public support evidenced by upcoming protests from the Maha Sangha and various professional groups, and urged an end to what he characterised as political persecution of individuals such as Hon. Namal Rajapaksa.

The speech is too brief to provide a substantive summary. The speaker, Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana, made only a single short statement — apparently calling for the cancellation of something deemed incorrect — without providing sufficient context, subject matter, or elaboration to summarize meaningfully.

The Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana sought clarification from the Deputy Minister regarding 304 licences reportedly issued illegally by the previous Government. He raised a series of questions concerning the legal status of these licences, the manner in which they were granted, and whether a formal procedure exists to either regularise or cancel them.

The speech provided contains insufficient content to produce a meaningful summary. The text consists of a single rhetorical question — "Isn't this now the question?" — without any accompanying context, argument, or substantive statement that can be summarized.

The speech contains minimal substantive content available for summarization, as the primary statement made by Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana was expunged on the order of the Chair. The only remaining recorded remarks are a brief interjection ("Oh God!") and a reference to posing a question, the content of which was removed from the official record.

The speech is incomplete, but based on the available text, Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana addresses the Deputy Minister with two supplementary points: first, requesting a reduction in the price of the "gal bottle" (glass bottle liquor), and second, beginning to reference a presentation made to Parliament by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa approximately one year prior, though this point appears to be cut off before completion.

The speech contains minimal substantive content, consisting only of a brief procedural remark by Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana regarding the process of asking questions and receiving answers from the Deputy Minister. The remainder of the speech was expunged on the order of the Chair and is therefore not available for summarization.

The speech contains no substantive content available for summarization, as the relevant portion was expunged on the order of the Chair.

The speech contains minimal substantive content available for summarization, as the majority of the remarks were expunged on the order of the Chair. From the remaining text, Hon. Abeygunawardhana appeared to be raising a concern about delays in receiving answers to parliamentary questions, suggesting a waiting period of approximately six months, and was appealing for cooperation from another party in the Chamber.

The speech consists solely of an informal, personal remark directed at the Speaker, asking them not to appear angry, with a comment about the effects of anger on appearance. **No substantive parliamentary matter, policy argument, proposal, or legislative issue was raised.**