Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake has written a letter to speaker Karu Jayasuriya refusing the proposed salary hike for Parliamentarians. 

The Speaker has received a request from lawmakers to increase the salaries of MPs by 215% and place them on the same scale with those of judges. 

Ramanayake had said  it was unfair for MPs to increase their salaries while the country is grappling with a massive debt burden.

He had said most MPs owned businesses and the salaries they drew from Parliament were "extra" avenues of income. 

Ramanayake had also challenged former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Joint Opposition to oppose the proposed salary hike for MPs.