Hon. Jagath Manuwarna

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, Hon. Hector Appuhamy said moments ago there is a medicine shortage causing grave suffering, and that officials are being protected while myths are spun. That may have been true before we took office. But we say with confidence: not now. We are working to eliminate such inefficiencies among officials and to provide an efficient service to all our people. If there are any local shortages, inform the authorities, and officials will attend to them.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, those camping at the protest site near Fort said their satyagraha was not a coma but a “dot”—I say it is a blot, a disgrace! They sat in an “indefinite satyagraha” that achieved nothing but to invite public anger. The same people kept coming to provoke. If they had stayed two or three more days, Colombo Fort would have again turned into something worse than 9 July 2022, and they would have been thrashed.

¶ 03 In this Chamber, to my left are those who constantly speak of the Easter bombings; to my right are those who never utter a word about it. Both are problems. Why do some keep shouting, and why do others stay silent? Recently, when foreign travel of Gotabaya Rajapaksa was restricted, some realized their plans might fail, and suddenly all the wailing began. Tuwansuresh (Suresh Sallay) had been in remand for about 100 days with no noise; but after that court order, the same crowd started crying and sat together with the Fort rabble. If they had lingered, the public would have thrashed them.

¶ 04 I also saw Hon. Rauff Hakeem sending small signals. Muslim people endured tremendous suffering—there has been no similar event in our history affecting them so. The Easter attacks imposed immense psychological trauma. Carefully planned to incite hatred between Sinhalese and Muslims for political ends, as our investigations now clearly show. Yet the Muslim MPs in Opposition say nothing. Shame.

¶ 05 Hon. Hakeem suddenly spoke about a Channel 4 story on Prabhakaran’s son. Why now? It was Asad Moulana’s Channel 4 revelations that have become a trigger for new court inquiries about Suresh Sallay. They cannot oppose the ongoing impartial investigations into Easter because the entire Muslim community is watching and supports proper process. So they try to deflect with Channel 4 clips.

¶ 06 Many sit in the same boat: the Rajapaksas’ defenders even today. Young MPs still cannot critically assess their leaders’ wrongs. The entire Opposition, including racists, those who bankrupted the country, thieves, and lowlifes from all parties, now gather to figure out how to topple this Government. I urge young MPs: conduct your politics with decency; do not fall into gutter politics. Ask your leaders why they stand with racists.

¶ 07 The Opposition Leader attended the launch of Udaya Gammanpila’s book—what a shame! Today he is silent on Easter and on the Central Bank bond scam, even as we reopen investigations. They talk about prices and fuel but not about accountability. The whole world is aflame; oil-producing regions are at war; the Strait of Hormuz is affected; fuel supply is constrained. In such global turmoil prices rise beyond our control. Yet despite this, we have kept the country going; otherwise people would have starved.

¶ 08 People remember 2022—queues for fuel and medicines, people dying. The public is not against the Government; the Opposition only waits to drag it down. But the people will not allow it, as we saw in Fort where citizens confronted the protestors because they remember 2022’s pain and the role some in today’s Opposition played.

¶ 09 Despite global crises and the aftershocks of disasters, we are doing everything possible for people’s welfare. Regarding the “Dittachchi” cyclone, we provided unprecedented compensation—for a fully damaged house, Rs. 500,000. Where in history was such an amount ever paid? We have instructed officials—without party bias or discrimination—to process compensation fairly, including for high-risk areas. If there are errors, bring complaints; we will act. As Chairs of DCCs, many here are already ensuring fair relief.

¶ 10 People elected the National People’s Power Government with great expectations; it is our duty to fulfill them—whether on Easter, the bond scam, or otherwise. These processes are proceeding well. We ask the public to watch with confidence. Thank you.