The Hon. Mano Ganesan

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member, for the opportunity to speak after the remarks of Hon. Bimal Rathnayake.

¶ 02 Hon. Minister, I understand your anger and your policies. I have a request: do not generalize. Please name names—if it is a former Speaker, a particular Minister, or a former MP, say who they are. That is only fair. I am not part of any wrongdoing or misuse of public funds, yet when you point a finger and say “you all,” it includes me and others who are innocent. Do not generalize; name them. You have every right to do so.

¶ 03 We understand your government has a strong mandate and 159 MPs. You were elected by the people, not fallen from the sky. Govern accordingly. We in the Opposition will present proposals; you will decide.

¶ 04 I also wish to raise with the attention of Hon. Ananda Wijepala a matter I brought earlier related to policing in the Southern Province. Your response then was good, but I expected more than reporting to Parliament. In the plantations of the South, Tamils face discriminatory practices. I discussed this with Hon. Saroja Savitri Paulraj as well; she privately acknowledged the issue. Estate managers and administrators treat people in degrading ways; the police often operate in tandem with them, forming a toxic culture. Please summon the relevant DIGs, OICs, SPs and ensure that innocent estate residents are protected from injustice.

¶ 05 Recently at Sirisily A Estate, Pallelegama, a 76-year-old, Sandan Mariyan, was arrested by the Deniyaya Police and was beaten, left with injuries. The assailant himself was later admitted to hospital, allegedly on police advice. Such conduct must change. Please instruct the police to correct these practices, especially in the South where the situation is serious, with crimes in Galle, Matara, Deniyaya areas, including offenses against women and girls.

¶ 06 On constitutional matters, there are mixed messages from within your government—on Provincial Councils and the 13th Amendment. Your party General Secretary, Irvin Silva, says one thing; a Minister says another. That is why we ask questions. Clarify: Will there be Provincial Council elections? What is your stance on the 13th Amendment? On estate housing—are you building individual houses or apartment blocks? The line ministry and its Secretary made public statements about flats in the Estates; later those statements seemed to change. Please clarify calmly.

¶ 07 Further, how much land per family—seven perches or ten? Under the Good Governance government we secured a Cabinet decision for seven perches for estate Tamil families, later policy recognition moved to ten perches. Make this clear during the Budget debate: is it seven or ten perches? Individual houses or not? We have struggled for every gain; nothing came free. Continue this journey—especially on a new Constitution to resolve the national question—and honor the trust of the Northern and Eastern people by holding Provincial Council elections and ensuring devolution as a starting point. I place these requests with the expectation that they reach the Hon. President’s attention.