Sri Lanka, Sept. 11 -- Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne announced in Parliament yesterday (10) that the Opposition's No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Deputy Defence Minister Major General (Retd) Aruna Jayasekara, is not in order and cannot be accepted in its present form.

The Speaker stated that under Articles 42, 43 and 44 of the Constitution, collective and individual ministerial responsibility lies with the Cabinet of Ministers.

He noted that a Deputy Minister, even though a Member of Parliament, is not a member of the Cabinet and does not bear direct Constitutional responsibility to Parliament in the present context.

"I have carefully considered this motion in light of the provisions of the Constitution, the Standing Orders of Pa...