The Hon. Nishantha Perera

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, for a “Prosperous Country, Beautiful Life”, the Government’s cornerstone programmes are Clean Sri Lanka, digitization and poverty eradication—advancing under the vision of President Anura Dissanayake who assumed office on 21 September.

¶ 02 Our task is to reverse 76 years of political history and reconstruct the country. Some in the Opposition misinterpret Clean Sri Lanka. Our aspiration is to shape a person rich in human virtues, and a transformed national condition—an attitudinal change.

¶ 03 Sri Lanka was the “pearl of the Indian Ocean”; the land that supplied rice to China; the land that produced marvels—Sigiriya, Parakrama Samudraya, Yodha Ela, Aukana. Yet after colonial rule and 76 years under post-independence rulers, we were driven backward. Now they ask whether we can fix that in two or three months.

¶ 04 Opposition MPs ask, “Where is the rice? Where is fertilizer?” Those who shut fertilizer plants and sold off storage now ask us about rice while paddy rots and iron in silos corrodes. They sold seed and livestock farms and even the land beneath the stores. Those who feasted then now ask, “Where is the rice?”

¶ 05 Our duty is to rebuild what was destroyed. On the day the President took oath, we began the primary task of cleaning politics. Unlike in the past—no red carpets, processions or fanfare—this Government kept it clean from day one and changed the culture.

¶ 06 Some fear the cleaning of political culture. They forget how things were: underworld figures protected politicians—Amare of Julampitiya, Gonawala Sunil, Soththi Upali, Beddagana Sanjeewa. Ministers tied public servants to trees. A former Tangalle PS Chairman raped a foreign woman. A former Akuressa PS Chairman raped a hundred women and celebrated. That was the political culture we are cleaning; some are hurt by this.

¶ 07 Recently, some Opposition MPs came in the morning and uttered lies through the mic to mislead the public—like claiming Rs. 7 million was spent on the Clean Sri Lanka launch, which later proved false. Because proceedings are live, some imagine all said here must be true. But the public cannot be fooled.

¶ 08 Clean Sri Lanka is being embraced rapidly. In Galle District, we launched a coastal clean-up from Aluthgama to Goviyapana—75 km at 51 points—with ministers, MPs, District Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries, Army officers, voluntary organizations and the public. The Opposition, afraid of this momentum, hurls baseless allegations. Some media only see small lapses, not the broader progress.

¶ 09 As Mao Zedong said: “Being attacked by the enemy is not a bad thing but a good thing... It proves we are right and that there is a clear line between us and the enemy. The more the enemy blackens us, the better.” The Opposition is agitated; we are not. We will build a strong economy and a beautiful Sri Lanka under the National People’s Power. Thank you.