The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition clarified that the HEC Action Plan was prepared by named experts rather than former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and questioned why it had not been implemented. He rejected claims that he had criticized veterinarians, stating that he had praised those who treated the “Bhathiya” elephant. He also challenged the Minister’s remarks on elephant tusks, arguing that the distinction between African and Asian elephants had been misrepresented in the House.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, to be clear: the HEC Action Plan is not a Gotabaya Rajapaksa plan; it was prepared by experts Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando, Sumith Pilapitiya, and U.K.G.K. Padmalal. I asked why it is not being implemented. We have never criticized the veterinarians; we have praised Dr. Dangolla, Dr. Tharaka, and Dr. Isuru and others who treated the “Bhathiya” elephant. Please do not mislead the House.
¶ 02 Also, Minister, you referred to “male elephants” in a way suggesting both sexes have tusks. In African elephants, both sexes can have tusks, but in Asian elephants—found in Sri Lanka—only males typically have tusks. Please speak with subject understanding rather than reading prepared text. I asked about elephants, not “tuskers” terminology misuse.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 22 July 2025 ·No. 1753443916033328 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 22 July 2025. No. 1753443916033328. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/13666