Hon. Sudath Balagalla

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, this is an extraordinary Budget. Our President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has floored the entire Opposition. Some dived under the bed; some collapsed in the well of the Chamber. One under the bed said “There’s nothing here—nothing for teachers, nothing for children.” One in the middle said “The Treasury is overflowing—better than we expected; they said they could not even run a betel kiosk.” In 2023, the deficit was Rs. 2,404 billion; under President Anura’s 2026 Budget it is Rs. 1,757 billion—that is what those in the middle confessed.

¶ 02 Who did not benefit from this Budget? No one. All communities, including the most deprived, have a stake; no one is excluded. From those in mansions to parents in line rooms on estates, everyone benefits. From the mighty elephant to the stray dog—everyone benefits. From public servants to private sector workers, from big import-export businesses to the smallest self-employed village trader—benefits flow.

¶ 03 The Opposition clings to scraps—like the claim of importing 1,750 vehicles for MPs. I challenge the Opposition Leader: if all your MPs sign a letter declining them, no problem. If you truly love the people, put it in writing. If you do, we 159 will also reject. These vehicles are for public service. Remember, we are not those who need vehicles to work; Rohana Wijeweera said, “We will build the country arriving by helicopter—or even on foot.” That is who we are.

¶ 04 A person from Bandarawela—call him naïve if you must—tries to instruct us after selling the people’s mandate for money. He has no right to lecture us on our Budget.

¶ 05 Within eight months of taking power, who doubled Mahapola for university students? We did. We dignified public servants with a salary increase. Those recruited in 2016 had their pensions removed; we restored them. We face the human-elephant conflict daily and are seeking lasting solutions. On onions and potatoes—you left us these problems; some solutions are long-term. We are working on local seed production to solve the potato issue. Yes, some vegetable farmers protest; they have issues. But their protests are led by SJB leaders—who could not mobilize even 150. We are building the cold stores and warehouses you failed to build, and setting up proper purchasing mechanisms you never had.

¶ 06 On the environment and animals—you will not find humanists and environmentalists like our NPP MPs anywhere. We love the environment and our country deeply. A certain MP questioned how to build a house for Rs. 1 million. Come, we will show you. This year, we built houses worth Rs. 2.5 million for Rs. 1 million each—come and see.

¶ 07 In my Badulla district, someone asked why Government gives money to estate workers directly rather than via companies. Do you know these innocent people, who break their backs to earn dollars for the nation? For 200 years, they were exploited and marginalized. We will change those lives. If there are issues in payment procedures, let us fix them and pass necessary laws—but do not obstruct giving relief to estate workers. In Badulla, when you built eight houses in 2024, we built 55 houses at Rs. 550,000 each. You looted through white-onion tenders, coconut oil scams, and the Central Bank; you sold your seats. From your ill-gotten gains, give us Rs. 1–2.5 million and we will build houses for the people—you will see what we can do.

¶ 08 We tell the Opposition: read this Government correctly; this is not like past regimes. If you fail to understand, your seats will shrink as our benches fill up. We have the will and honesty to rebuild this country. We left everything to work with a pure intent to uplift the nation. We will not stop until we succeed. Thank you.