The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, from here you look very much like Maithripala Sirisena sitting in that Chair!

¶ 02 During the earlier debate, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara spoke about me. I spent two months in two prisons. Two courts filed cases against me; cases were filed to bar me from contesting—three in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court and one in Badulla. When bail was granted in Colombo, they filed in Badulla; knowing bail would be granted in Badulla yesterday, they sought to cancel bail in Colombo the previous Friday. File cases if you must; prosecute the guilty; catch thieves. But if you build a bathroom, do not strip someone naked in public; do it inside the bathroom.

¶ 03 Do you know the reason cited to cancel my bail? Because Ranil Wickremesinghe would give a voice-cut about my case! My wife allegedly went and told him about my case. On the one hand he is a lawyer; on the other, he is the leader of the Gas Cylinder symbol party under which I sought votes. If the party leader told my wife to come, she went. But does the President do what my wife says? He does not even do what his own wife says—how will he do what mine says? He is someone who, as they say, could drink without swallowing—someone who stones Jetavanaramaya and crosses the Neranjana River; he is not a man to do what my wife says. To claim his statement influenced the case is absurd. Yesterday, after two months, the Badulla Magistrate gave me a fair ruling.

¶ 04 Hon. Sunil Watagala, a senior lawyer and now Deputy Minister, is here. Please look at Article 150 of the Constitution: monies withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund must be spent within the budgetary framework. If so, cases should be filed not against me but against those who placed monies in fixed deposits outside the Consolidated Fund. Why am I charged for withdrawing a fixed deposit? Do Provincial Councils even hold fixed deposits? Article 150 deals with the Consolidated Fund. Read it. These cases are ridiculous. If you file a case, make sure it can be proved.

¶ 05 On vehicle imports: our Government earlier decided not to import. Why? In 2022, when we formed a government with Ranil Wickremesinghe, reserves were down to USD 200 million—we could not buy oil, gas, or fertilizer. We built reserves from USD 200 million to USD 6 billion by the time we handed over power on 23 September to your Government. Some southern Ministers may grumble, but we handed over with USD 6 billion. President Anura Dissanayake said on taking oath that he had inherited a country that could be taken forward to a certain level; that is because we left USD 6 billion. Had we allowed vehicle imports then, those dollars would have vanished. Still, from February this year we intended to begin importing vehicles.

¶ 06 We have no objection to importing vehicles now to raise revenue and strengthen the economy. However, there are 20,000 vehicle permits already issued to public servants. The Government has given no answer on what will be done for these permits—for administrative officers, doctors, judges—across the services. Doctors can do private practice; administrators have other benefits; but what do judges have? They look forward to this one vehicle permit as their only benefit. The Government must announce a schedule for these 20,000 permits—this year a tranche, next year another, and so on. So far there has been no fairness on this.

¶ 07 [Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala: Salaries were increased.]

¶ 08 What use are those pay hikes? At current vehicle prices, a vehicle cannot be bought. Even for a vehicle, the entire pay increase must be mortgaged till death—installments until the official dies. Senior officials who help you run the country—those on the front lines—are waiting with their permits. They gave you the most postal votes; in these local elections too, it was public servant votes that boosted you, as rural people did not vote much. Do not weaponize the courts to silence us. We in the Opposition point out the wrongs.

¶ 09 Hon. Anura Kumara, when in Opposition with just three MPs against 150 on the Government side, worked so effectively that he is now President.

¶ 10 Hon. Archchuna spoke about the Elephant Pass saltern. As State Minister of Industries, Elephant Pass and Mannar salterns were under me. In our time, was there a salt shortage? There was salt then; now there is none. If you cannot supply salt, admit it.

¶ 11 Historically, during the British times—when the upcountry was occupied—southerners carried salt to the hills. The descendants live today in Badulla and Monaragala. Never in history was there a salt shortage; people in Welimada, Nuwara Eliya, and Haputale relied on salt brought by cart from the south. Yet now, after your Government came, there is a shortage. Admit that weakness. Our weaknesses caused the 2022 “Aragalaya.” The fertilizer crisis pushed people to the streets. Deputy Minister Sarath, you performed at Polonnaruwa during that time and got lakhs of preferences because of the Aragalaya; otherwise, how? You could not even get into a Provincial Council back then. We know these things.

¶ 12 Hon. Presiding Member, I respect you, Prof. Sena Nanayakkara. You were a university professor in Anuradhapura District. Please accept what we say. There are practical Members like Chamara Sampath here. We can learn from each other. Do not jail us and punish us. Is this what you intend?

¶ 13 [An Hon. Member: Was this well thought out? It was not, was it?]