10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. Arjuna Sujeewa Senasinghe, Attorney-at-Law

Samagi Jana Balawegaya· National List· 18 February 2026 ·Debate: Debate: Special Commodity Levy Act, Customs Ordinance Resolution, and Motor Traffic Act Orders (Continuation)

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Hon. Arjuna Sujeewa Senasinghe argued that the Government had not reduced taxes and was operating within the economic framework established under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Citing the Central Bank Governor, he said current revenue collection and policy direction reflected that programme, while the Government was taking credit for its results and distancing itself from shortcomings.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Thank you.

¶ 02 A disciplined Deputy Minister spoke—well. He spoke about taxes. My response: taxes have not been reduced.

¶ 03 You now try to take credit for some matters, but it is Ranil Wickremesinghe’s framework that is in operation—so says the Central Bank Governor, not me. You take credit for platforms he set up and then disown the shortcomings. If you are collecting taxes and revenues to a certain level, it is within his framework. The CBSL Governor said: “Even if Anura or Sajith or a deity becomes President, what must be done is President Ranil’s program.” This is not me speaking—it is the Governor. We are not praising Ranil; but you are following his path.

¶ 04 Hon. Deputy Minister, I draw your attention—

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Wednesday, 18 February 2026 ·No. 23308 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Arjuna Sujeewa Senasinghe, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 18 February 2026. No. 23308. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/20363