10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

Samagi Jana Balawegaya· National List· 8 July 2025 ·Debate: Debate: Imports and Exports (Control) Act - Salt Import Regulations (Gazette No. 2437/04)

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M. Nizam Kariapper allocated most of his speaking time to Hon. M.S. Abthul Wazeeth and briefly addressed the Regulations under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act. He argued that salt should not be imported, citing Gandhi’s criticism of salt taxation, and proposed exempting salt from import licensing while setting a maximum import ceiling to encourage domestic production.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I wish to allocate five minutes of my time to the newcomer of this House, the Hon. M.S. Abthul Wazeeth, the former Chairman of the Pottuvil Pradeshiya Sabha, and a high command member of our Party - Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. Having said that, I will just use the balance half a minute.

¶ 02 While expressing my views on the Regulations under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, let me recall what Mahatma Gandhi said. He said that salt tax is a sin against the poor and a crime against nature. So, let me say this: I regard this import of salt as a sin. The State has no moral right to import salt. Exempt it from import licensing and have a ceiling on maximum import limits, for it is something nature has given freely and abundantly to all. We must, therefore, produce our own salt and not depend on imports. Thank you.

¶ 03 The Hon. M.S. Abthul Wazeeth may use the rest of the time.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Tuesday, 8 July 2025 ·No. 1752482630017444 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 July 2025. No. 1752482630017444. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/10929