The Hon. R.M. Ranjith Madduma Bandara

¶ 01 Thank you. Please allow me three minutes.

¶ 02 We urge you to act on this. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, “To protect our farmers, I will not import a single grain of rice.” But your Cabinet has decided to import 70,000 metric tons of rice.

¶ 03 Another matter is fuel prices. Fuel pricing has become a joke, going up and down frequently. Everyone knows the cost of living is burdensome, including for public servants. To reduce the cost of living, fuel prices must come down. Before coming to power, you pledged to reduce fuel prices. But you still follow the old cycle. Why cannot you reduce fuel prices? In October last year, a barrel of crude was USD 80; now it is USD 74–78. You also say the dollar has depreciated and the rupee strengthened. Then the people should benefit. Today, Rs. 120 per litre is taken as tax on petrol. Excise Duty is Rs. 77 on petrol and Rs. 56 on diesel per litre; with VAT and other taxes, about Rs. 100 per litre is collected. The petroleum sector is now profitable. Why is that relief not passed on to the people? Why can’t you reduce these taxes, especially when you pledged to reduce VAT and other taxes to give relief?