Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala turned down a request made by former Minister Bandula Gunawardena today in the Parliament, giving rise to a tense situation.

{module lolc}

Gunawardena requested for a debate on the budget proposals on education, saying that there were misleading facts on the education sector in the budget.

However, Sumathipala said that Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has already given an explanation regarding the controversy in Parliament.

The government earlier said that 5.41 percent of the government income was allocated for the budget. Gunawardena and several other opposition members vehemently denied this claim.

Gunawardena was the last Minister of Education under the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa.