The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake

¶ 01 Not then — now. You too are there, standing at the back. This is how things have turned out. Do you know what has happened to you, Hon. Deputy Minister Watagala? Someone else is doing your job. You get nothing. We know that too. Nothing is left for you to do as a minister. We know that as well. You want the Justice Minister’s chair. There is no use sitting as a Deputy Minister. We too have sat as deputy to senior ministers. We got nothing. We, having served as State Ministers and in various portfolios, know, because of these experiences. We too have sat with some ministers. But fortunately, I served under Minister Ramesh Pathirana. He is a genuine person. He gave us responsibilities and told us to get things done. So do not come to lecture us about certain OBE matters; we know about those people.

¶ 02 Hon. Gayantha Karunathilaka served as a minister. Those under him as State or Deputy Ministers were treated well because he is a good man. Some ministers would not give even a thread to their deputies or state ministers. Your heart knows I am telling the truth. Later you will say Chamara Sampath told the truth. That is another story. Therefore, do not hand out empty promises, not even salt. Boasting about having 159 in the Government is useless. What people say outside reaches our ears too, Hon. Presiding Member. So we know what is happening. I am not a nationalist. Since I came to this Parliament, I have always told the truth, fairly and squarely. Perhaps there were shortcomings in some of the 62 speeches I made. But can we change your 159 just because we targeted the Government in our speeches? No. If the Government makes a mistake or shows a weakness, when we point it out, it goes to the public, to the media, to the Government. Then the Government must realize it, correct the mistake, and move forward. When the decision on fertilizers was made within Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Government, I was the very first to oppose it. What happened in the end? The Government itself fell. We were among those who spoke against it.

¶ 03 Hon. Presiding Member, we now ask you to ensure that essentials like salt and rice are properly provided to the people. Fulfil the expectations of the people. They placed great trust in your Government.