The Hon. Chaminda Lalith Kumara

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to express views during this Budget debate.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, not only the President but many diligent minds contributed. The President, our Deputy Ministers, and all public officials pooled their insights to present an excellent 2026 Budget and to prepare the country accordingly. Importantly, beyond producing a document, the 2025 Budget has already been implemented practically. In another month, many more programmes will be underway. To ensure not a cent is wasted, we appointed village-level supervisory officers for every project, operationalized them, and linked hands with the people to start rebuilding this country this year. With those results and experience, we presented the 2026 Budget. Unfortunately, while the President spent four and a half hours clearly setting out this scientific document to the country and the world, the Opposition is now making baseless noise. Politics is not for those who tire—this journey demands sacrifice. Having taken power and begun implementing our vision, the Opposition is offering incorrect criticism.

¶ 03 Today, the Opposition’s Chief Organizer compared this Budget to a motorcycle spinning in the “well of death”. It is they who are spinning. The Opposition faces a deadly curve from which they cannot climb.

¶ 04 The “National Budget 2026 – Citizens’ Budget” is accompanied by illustrated explanatory booklets in all three languages. We urge the Opposition to read them before speaking.

¶ 05 We have all heard of the child hero Madduma Bandara. Whatever one does with the name, we saw its misuse here. This book clearly lays out agricultural valuation and value-chain protection, commercialization, and loan schemes to attract youth into agriculture. There are many allocations and incentives under agriculture. Claiming there is nothing is to dishonour that legacy.

¶ 06 In Gampaha District, under the supervision of State Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe, both as Oversight MP on the Agriculture Committee and as Chair of the District Coordinating Committee, much work has been done and continues. We are assigning volunteer representatives to every paddy field, coconut plot, and export-crop area—ten per GN Division—linking them with relevant state officers. In my Meerigama seat, we have brought together three Agrarian Service Centres, coordinated with officials, and mobilized large-scale public participation. This is how we practically work—in agriculture, tourism, and other sectors—with the people and the thousands of local authority members and community leaders. If you can challenge such a movement, that would indeed be a deadly curve. Under the theme “A Wealthy Country – A Beautiful Life,” we will deliver every promise letter by letter. Our programmes cover drug eradication, national and public security, and tourism—across all sectors.

¶ 07 Hon. Presiding Member, this document is like digging until gold appears. If implemented, in another seven to eight months the people will reap clear benefits. Yet, instead of reading it, the Opposition distorts and even equates the JVP of 1988 with the LTTE, while forgetting that 36 years ago Rohana Wijeweera and many comrades were killed. No amount of insults will halt our journey—no matter how much the dogs bark, the caravan moves on.

¶ 08 I must also address a personal smear. Recently, false accusations were thrown at me and our movement, alleging links to narcotics, to derail our anti-drug campaign. We pity those who cling to such slander. We discard these petty conspiracies like morning phlegm.