The Hon. (Dr.) Nandana Millagala

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to present my views on the Appropriation Bill for 2025 presented by our Government of the National People’s Power. Over seven days of debate at the Second Reading, the Government benches presented constructive, progressive, and admirable ideas. Some young Opposition MPs too tried to present certain positive points.

¶ 02 However, examining the simplistic arguments from those alleging “years of governance failures,” I recall a saying from our classical literature: “Speaking of jackfruit when asked about mangoes.” That is what we heard. They stoked suspicion, doubt, and fear among people, and without grasping the economic principles in our Budget or the path toward economic democracy, clung to Adam Smith to ask whether we can rise this way, or to Karl Marx’s Capital to find refuge. Marx’s work proposed tremendous social-economic transformation, awakening dormant social forces. But plucking a word from it to hide behind did not work. Then they turned to Dhammapada, the Bible, the Qur’an—seeking religious cover to bury sound ideas. They have long hidden behind religion, ethnicity, caste, etc., to sustain their politics. Hence the petty arguments we heard.

¶ 03 Our Budget aims to initiate a great social transformation—a renaissance. It is not easy, but unless begun, there is no path forward. We inherited a country stripped of its forward journey. Representing diverse fields—doctors, engineers, agri-technologists, social scientists, university academics, teachers, principals—our Government is making a sacrifice, contributing energy and strength for societal transformation. Those who have long used politics for personal gain cannot understand this.

¶ 04 They cannot see our commitment because they long followed economic policies that looted society and dragged it to the abyss. COP Committee discussions are revealing how severely they abused our economy.

¶ 05 We will not reduce economics to technical jargon that distances people. We are identifying and using it to transform society—creating both quantitative and qualitative progress—launching this renaissance. The Opposition’s economic narrative is Goebbelsian: repeat one lie a hundred times to block our path. But they will not succeed. We are determined, well-managed, with a strong vision.

¶ 06 Within this Budget, 26 sectors of State investment projects and 287 projects will be completed within the year—covering general, higher, and vocational education; youth and sports; health; and religious-cultural heritage. Some end this year, others in coming years.

¶ 07 We are satisfied that, as an Opposition MP also noted, education must be developed. We have allocated an unprecedented Rs. 619 billion for education—never before in history. The world advances on the basis that “knowledge is wealth.” To become a prosperous nation, we must strengthen education. The dawn of free education enabled even the poorest to contribute to society.

¶ 08 When C.W.W. Kannangara presented the Free Education Bill, he cited Thomas Gray’s lines: unless the sun’s light falls upon the dark ocean’s depths, the precious gems remain forever hidden and lost in darkness. So too is education for the poorest children—bringing the dawn that raises their lives to the heavens. On that basis, we have allocated the largest share for education.

¶ 09 Many more policies to take our country forward are included in this Budget.