Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake

¶ 01 Do not manufacture crises daily; people will take to the streets. Dambulla voters filled the ballot boxes; you cannot carry heavy boxes unless people vote. Do not break records; otherwise you will face the same fate as others who lost despite big records.

¶ 02 (Interjection by an Hon. Member: Then Rajitha will come.)

¶ 03 Yes. If my majority dropped by 4,000, Nimal Siripala would be back here.

¶ 04 We are “wild plants” and you are “golden plants”; but tables can turn. We speak for the people—do not take revenge on us.

¶ 05 From the Rajarata of tanks come Presidents: Maithri from Polonnaruwa; Anura Kumara from Thambuttegama. From Nuwara Eliya or Badulla—none have become President; we had hopes, but it did not happen. Our province has suffered: Monaragala devastated; farmlands lost; the Uva highlands still suffer without roads and electricity. No one cared. Ministers from our area helped, but we never had our own reach the top; thus our sorrow.

¶ 06 In your area, however, there were great patrons: Maithripala Senanayake in Medawachchiya; former Speaker E.L. Ratnayake helped Anuradhapura. But if you do nothing now, you will not return—prepare your stomachs to be cut (face political hardship). Three top leaders hail from Anuradhapura—yet they cannot travel to Dambulla now because onion farmers are angry. How will Minister Nalinda Jayatissa develop Kalutara? He is alone there; likewise Samantha Vidyaratna for Badulla—though we may have had issues, we speak fairly.

¶ 07 Power Minister, you were once with us; do not frown when truth is spoken.