The Hon. K.D. Lal Kantha
Hon. K.D. Lal Kantha rejected Opposition claims that supporters of the Government were disappointed with the Budget and responded to criticism about the Government’s economic model. He stated that the Budget rejects Adam Smith’s laissez-faire approach and affirmed that the State will intervene in the economy as a central policy direction.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I wish to respond to some Members of the disappointed Opposition shedding crocodile tears over this Budget. Many claim that those who voted for “Maalimawa” are now regretting after this Budget, and that even JVP members are disappointed. They also grope about our economic model—sometimes invoking Adam Smith, sometimes Karl Marx—and say social market advocates are happy. Let me answer those who flail about our economic fundamentals.
¶ 02 First, to all in Opposition and outside: we rejected Adam Smith’s laissez-faire long ago—“the State does not intervene in the economy.” Europe itself rejected it. Our Budget explicitly rejects it. Our State will intervene in the economy. That is very clear.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 20 February 2025 ·No. 1740657427093848 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. K.D. Lal Kantha. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 February 2025. No. 1740657427093848. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/16424