than MPs", he said.

He said that there was an officialdom on one hand run by K. Balapatabendi and Chandananda de Silva and a Deputy Defence Minister who would not meet MPs on the other. "Anuruddha Ratwatte holds the record for not meeting any MPs in the last seven years. That is why he resorted to violence to win elections", he said.

He contrasted this with the conduct of John Amaratunga whom he said was accessible to any MP, both government and opposition. He said that it was regrettable that the no-confidence motion was being presented at a time the minister was trying to revamp the structure in its entirely.

He alleged that many members of the PA were being forced to support a motion which they don’t agree with.

Nihal Galappaththi(JVP — Hambantota) said that Minister Amaratunga is fast creating a police state for himself and is acting like the Baron in that principality. "I would like to ask the minister whether he is the minister of the Interior for the whole country or the minister for the rest of the country excluding the North-East".

He insisted that Minister Amaratunga should be banished from the country. He charged that the police force is becoming politicised and most of the police officers are working to please government politicians in order to get promotions.

Pledging confidence of the SLMC to the Interior Minister, Rauf Hakeem (Minister of Port Development) said that the entire thrust of the motion has collapsed.

He stressed that the government created a special ministry of the Interior to handle