The Hon. Sudath Balagalla
Hon. Sudath Balagalla argued that the government had ended parliamentary privileges and elitist practices, citing the removal of vehicle permits and MPs’ pensions, changes to cafeteria pricing, and the redirection of Presidential Fund benefits to ordinary people. He contrasted this with past abuses, commissions, and political victimisation, including an incident involving his family in 2009, and stated that the government would work to rebuild the country.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 We were three percent, but we are people enriched with 59 years of combined experiences. We gave a massive victory to the people. In that victory, you lost many privileges. You used your parliamentary power to get vehicle permits—we cut that and allowed vehicles for the public. You created a pension for yourselves while cutting the farmer’s pension—we cut yours. You went to villages with backup vehicles; earlier at funerals, people only stood for the corpse; now even five people will not stand for you. We crushed that elitism. You mocked our cafeteria meals—now you do not show up at the canteen after prices were rationalised. Commissions and kickbacks are over; now only the MP’s salary remains. We redirected Presidential Fund benefits to the grassroots. In 2009, my house was raided; my father’s legs were broken—no compensation—while you took crores. We ended that. We will dedicate our hard work fully to rebuild this nation.
¶ 02 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Monday, 24 February 2025 ·No. 1741236032093385 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sudath Balagalla. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 24 February 2025. No. 1741236032093385. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/11721