The Hon. Sudath Balagalla

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, the Opposition keeps saying continuously that we have not done what we said we would. During the previous period, they said we only talk about giving this and that, and about tax reliefs. But let us see what the present Opposition said during the last election. At one point, they said that if our party came to power, we would kill the elderly. That is what they said. Hon. Deputy Chairperson, when they were in government, their story now sounds as if the elderly were kept shut inside houses, sprinkled with scent powder while people chanted “doi doi.” But we did not do what they accused us of. We proved that false. We increased the elder’s allowance and the allowance for CKD patients, and we are strengthening the institutions that take care of the elderly.

¶ 02 Next, they said that once we came, foreign investments would stop. But now, sufficient numbers of foreign investors are visiting even our party headquarters and Parliament, and they are taking appropriate steps to invest. We proved that claim false too.

¶ 03 Then they said we would seize property — that if there were too many cattle, we would take a cow; if there were too many cars, we would take a car. We proved that false as well. However, we are making one thing true: we are recovering the wealth stolen for 76 years. We will make that truth evident.

¶ 04 They also said this government would cut Samurdhi benefits. There have been instances where Samurdhi benefits were granted wrongly. Under the previous government, many deserving persons did not receive Samurdhi. That is why, after we came to power, so many people have had to come to us to claim their due benefits. We are now granting benefits and correcting those past errors. We have proved that charge false too.

¶ 05 They said there are no alms for temples. Are there no alms now? Temples are receiving alms well; processions are taking place. Thus, we have disproved all their claims. The biased media repeated those lies, and we have shown them to be untrue.

¶ 06 What kind of country did they hand over to us? In the country they left, more than 50% of all families were poor. That is what they gave us. What did you do for 76 years? In the Badulla District, in my Mahiyanganaya electorate, there are poor children without schoolbooks. They have no roads. In areas like Kukulapola, Vewatta, Dambana, and Gurukumbura, you destroyed the dreams of children who needed access to schools. You killed their future — you, the present Opposition. In our villages and on the estates, there are mothers and fathers who cannot even secure one proper meal. You crushed their dreams — you, today’s big Opposition. While people lacked even a foot-bicycle to travel, those white gentlemen who came boastfully to Mahiyanganaya eventually killed the dreams of our youth. Now they say we have not solved 68 issues arising from the economic crisis, and that we have not answered the rice issue. I will speak to that.

¶ 07 They also brought up the elephant issue. After 2009, they now talk as if elephant calves were beaten. Where does this issue root back to? In the 1818 Uva–Wellassa rebellion, Wellassa was destroyed; tens of thousands of tanks and anicuts were ruined 200 years ago. Those who ruled for 76 years never rebuilt Wellassa. Moreover, when we took over the country, even a single grain was not in the Paddy Marketing Board. While they were playing games and squandering, the PMB had only one lorry. Now these gentlemen ask us for rice. They speak as if we could harvest a paddy crop in two to three weeks after assuming power. That is not possible. All the paddy stores were also destroyed. I have a list of the paddy stores in Mahiyanganaya. According to it, there are 18 stores. For what are they used now? One is used to store fertilizer — but even that has no fertilizer. Another is used as a farmer organization office — that is a Zone “C” paddy store. Another was leased for an oil mill, but it is not being used. In Ginnenoruwa in Zone “C,” it serves no purpose now. The Rotalawela paddy store is unused; the Galporuyaya paddy store is set aside for fertilizer but has none. This is the state of the paddy stores. Yet they ask us for rice, after what they did to these stores. The Kandaketiya store is closed; the Mapakadawewa store is closed; almost all stores in Badulla District are closed. Now they ask us for rice.

¶ 08 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, these white gentlemen talking today devastated the country this way. When we were schooling, we thought politicians were great heroes; we were awed by their vehicles. But now we have seen: a gang of thieves in white clothing doing dark deeds. That living realization came after we came here. Only now have we learned that the ministers once seen as great heroes were in fact big thieves.