Dinesh requests Opposition:

Make questions short to save costs

Sandasen Marasinghe, Irangika Range and Disna Mudalige

Chief Government Whip and Minister Dinesh Gunawardene told Parliament yesterday that ministry officials formulating answers to Opposition members’ questions faced difficulties as the questions were usually long.

The minister said that certain questions asked in Parliament by Opposition members have cost millions of rupees for the relevant ministry when trying to give proper answers.

Not only a question itself costs Rs 60,000, but to find answers to certain questions, it costs more than Rs 6 million for the government.

The minister stated this when UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake charged as to why the government was trying to avoid questions asked when thousands of rupees were spent to ask a question.

Minister Gunawardene said that questions asked by Opposition members are very long and officials sometimes have to go around the country to find data, to answer these questions. For instance, a question once asked by UNP MP Joseph Micheal Perera cost Rs 4 million.