The Hon. Ravindra Bandara

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, today I intend to speak on the Licensing of Container Depot Operators Bill.

¶ 02 First, a point: a Hon. Member, wearing a bandage moments ago, spoke here. I saw a similar statement elsewhere. He reminds us, “Do not come after us; do not enforce the law against us; fulfill the promises you made.” We must say: we are fulfilling the promises we made. Fulfilling them will upset some, because a principal promise was to punish the corrupt and murderers. The enforcement of that process is precisely the fulfillment of our promise.

¶ 03 They narrate many other tales. I saw talk about the “Dissa” cyclone and the aftermath. My area was badly affected—landslides occurred; lives were lost. In their time in power, the Meeriya Bedda landslide happened; people suffered terribly. Authorities had already identified the area as high-risk and advised relocation, but people were not moved.

¶ 04 They now instruct us on house construction. After the Meeriya Bedda landslide, only 75 houses were built, and that took four years to complete, while people suffered in temporary shelters. Another 135 houses remained to be built—our government is building those now. Let me remind them of that history.

¶ 05 They speak of assaults and incidents. There is a long history of assaults and even a culture of murders. They should be ashamed. Investigations today cover fathers, mothers, elder and younger brothers, sons, and “the elder father’s son”—all. Inquiries are ongoing into the MIG aircraft deal—another of our promises. When they speak of assaults and murders, do they not recall Thajudeen? Poddala Jayantha? The breaking of legs, the shaving of beard and hair, stuffing things into mouths; the brutal assault and murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge; the disappearance of Eknaligoda; attacks on Keith Noyahr? Yet now they speak prettily.

¶ 06 They also spoke about housing. I know they will not listen; they speak and walk out. They repeat the same empty lines. As our President—our comrade—has said: if you ever hope to return to power, do something new—be better than us. Instead, like dung beetles, they always head to the same filth: racism and religious bigotry. They even drag the noble Dhamma into it. This government affords the highest respect to venerable monks and religions. They said if the Jathika Jana Balawegaya formed a government, alms for temples would disappear; no peraheras; religion would be curtailed. Yet all those activities proceed well. A magnificent Sarvajna Relic exposition is being launched. When such events occur, they rush to stir racism; if not Sinhala, then Tamil or Muslim communalism—or trivial distractions.

¶ 07 They keep repeating about “323 containers,” when millions of containers move through that port; they have nothing to substantiate.

¶ 08 They spin stories about coal. When procurement is conducted properly via tenders, they, who awarded without tenders and oversaw massive corruption, try to capitalize. We have clearly shown no such misconduct occurred; any issues were about standards, and threefold penalties have been imposed on suppliers. Worse happened previously, often without tender processes. Yet they repeat the same accusations.

¶ 09 Let me say: special courts for grand corruption and fraud have been established and are functioning. That is why they are agitated. They cannot bear to listen; they speak and leave the Chamber, and then listen outside. If they lack the courage to hear opposing views and only propagate falsehoods, that is regrettable. Their politics of racism, theft, corruption, assault, and intimidation was rejected by the people through a system change. We ask them to change; reform; understand the new political landscape and return anew.

¶ 10 They should also tell the “elder father’s son” abroad to come and present himself; tell the father to come forward as well—to prove innocence. We know: police files have missing pages; phone records erased; some witnesses murdered. Even so, those who committed inhumane assaults will ultimately face justice—through proper evidence and process.

¶ 11 They raised many more points; I will answer them all. But today I request that next time they speak about nation-building and moving forward free of corruption—not stoking Sinhala, Tamil, or Muslim chauvinism.

¶ 12 We must manage everything properly and deliver efficient services. This Licensing of Container Depot Operators Bill aims to remove obstacles to growth in the container operations sector, enable business continuity, and provide for regulation and oversight. Despite the Opposition’s fantasies about 323 containers, the Port of Colombo reached a decisive inflection point in 2025, handling the highest volume and capacity in its history; 2026 January figures show the same. Records bear this out.

¶ 13 As the country advances—with rising dollar reserves, record remittances last year, record tourist arrivals in 2025 set to be surpassed in 2026—and exports growing, we continue to move forward.

¶ 14 Another Opposition group alleged vulgarization by the Leader of the Opposition. They are the ones who created this vulgar culture. We saw, in Anuradhapura, a Member—name not worth mentioning—using the vilest words to insult the Prime Minister; now they insult the Speaker. That is vulgarization. As this House returns to decorum, they realize they have nothing substantive. Therefore, aligning with a new political culture, I conclude my brief remarks. Thank you.