The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva
Dr. Harsha de Silva raised a point of order in response to references to him, clarifying that his tweet on the ISB deal was conditional and intended to question whether the Government would abandon its promised alternative debt sustainability analysis. He urged the Government to present and implement its alternatives on debt restructuring and industrial policy if it has them, rather than changing course after assuming office. He also rejected the characterization of his party as neoliberal, referred to its social market economy approach and past advocacy on the EPF, and proposed that any MLB or clawback benefit be extended to the EPF within the existing DSA framework.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I rise to a point of Order.
¶ 02 My name was repeatedly mentioned. I did not interrupt because I respect the Hon. Member; this is the kind of discussion Parliament needs — policy, not mudslinging. I will not analyze at length. The Hon. Member says there is an alternative and that they will implement it.
¶ 03 About my tweet: “Looks like #SriLanka ISB deal is done to be announced anytime.” It says “Looks like…” Then it says “If so…” — that will end the NPP’s promise of an alternate DSA. You always talk of an alternative. If so, implement it. Do not say there is an alternative, come to power, and then say after seeing reality that you are abandoning it and taking another path. If you have an alternative — whether on the DSA, or ideologically on industrial policy — present it and implement it.
¶ 04 We are not neoliberals. We moved away long ago. We have for a long time spoken of a social market economy. We have spoken about workers and EPF not just today. With Wasantha Samarasinghe and others, we fought over the EPF 20 years ago. Please read our proposal. If something is good, accept it; do not reject it just because it is from the Opposition. If you are giving an MLB or a clawback, give it to the EPF. It can be done within your unchanged DSA. Thank you very much.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 17 December 2024 ·No. 1734685396083959 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 17 December 2024. No. 1734685396083959. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/18305