The Hon. Sudath Balagalla
Hon. Sudath Balagalla defended the Government’s early performance, arguing that it should be given time to rebuild the country and agriculture sector after what he described as decades of hardship and neglect. He said Cabinet members, MPs, and party members were working voluntarily, and asserted that the Government would fulfil its promises within five years, including addressing longstanding grievances affecting rural children’s educational opportunities.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, we are reviving the agriculture sector. The Opposition makes many big accusations about our short time in office. Please be patient. We did not take responsibility to push the people back into the pit you dug. For the first time in Sri Lankan history, there is a Cabinet working voluntarily. For the first time, 159 MPs are working voluntarily. For the first time, one and a half million of our party members and comrades across Sri Lanka are working voluntarily to rebuild this country.
¶ 02 Give us five years. We will leave no topic or problem for your next manifesto. We formed this government after 59 years of suffering, not to inflict suffering again. You killed our childhood dreams. We wanted to study science or mathematics for A/Ls, but you denied that chance to rural children. Now that gang in white who stole those dreams is questioning our Sujatha government. We say: we will fulfill every promise we gave to the people.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Thursday, 9 January 2025 ·No. 1738229262040729 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sudath Balagalla. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 9 January 2025. No. 1738229262040729. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/23773