The Hon. Rohana Bandara

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, in my view, at the very start of the year the current President placed, at the apex of his Government’s policy, a task vital to the country—launched as Clean Sri Lanka. Yet from the outset it faced criticisms and allegations. Even now, the Government first needs to “clean” up Clean Sri Lanka—clarify it. We saw Government MPs themselves asking the Prime Minister questions about it last week, showing even they were not properly briefed.

¶ 02 The concept is laudable—beyond environmental cleaning, also tackling corruption. No one who loves this country would oppose that. But you have stretched the scope without bounds, to infinity. Singapore proceeded with limited targets, step by step. India set two clear goals and then moved forward systematically. But you have piled on everything at once, making it so broad that Ministers and MPs make varying statements, leaving the programme groping in the dark. Almost anything is now claimed to be part of Clean Sri Lanka.

¶ 03 You are trying to enforce it by force. When Gotabaya Rajapaksa became President, we saw a spontaneous surge: youth cleaned streets, painted, revived fallow fields—but it quickly faded because it lacked continuity. Now we see Ministers jumping into tanks and drains and scrubbing toilets. While it is admirable for leaders to take workers’ place, these are displays. Are they practical daily? Instead of stagecraft or brainwashing people, manage through administration; Parliament is for governance. If MPs and Ministers themselves are scrubbing tanks and drains, we can judge its sustainability. This programme carries a vast mandate and should develop the country rapidly; the Government recognizes that—but for lack of a clear aim, you are now forced to tidy up after missteps.

¶ 04 At the start, you went after buses. In our country we pay the world’s highest taxes on vehicles; we can’t afford luxury buses. We retrofit lorry chassis with bus bodies. Owners then make buses attractive and comfortable for passengers. Today, efforts to make buses pleasing and fair to passengers are being thwarted. We have seen in Pakistan officers beating buses with sticks; is that where we are headed—driving aesthetics out? If a youth buys a three-wheeler with great difficulty to make a livelihood, he may add attractions at cost to draw customers. This has now become a “major problem” under Clean Sri Lanka. The programme is being sullied because you act without a clear purpose. Our request is that you proceed methodically.

¶ 05 Your structure lists: a Clean Sri Lanka Presidential Task Force; a Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat; district-level Clean Sri Lanka councils; and divisional councils. The District Coordinating Committee—the legally established forum—is sidelined, creating a clash with lawful structures. Here, you reveal the real intent: under “social activities” the first “issue” to address is to remove negative feelings towards the Government. So the main purpose becomes pacifying public resistance to the Government—this is the attempt we see.

¶ 06 The primary institution for local cleanliness is the local authority. You have brought powers of local authorities under NPP bodies. We hear from villages that engineering estimates for construction are being funneled through your party committees, with contracts diverted away from farmer organizations and skimmed for party funds under Clean Sri Lanka. To give such arrangements a legal cover, you are using this programme to consolidate political power. We have seen how past governments built parallel cadres—GR officers, Samurdhi officers—beyond mandate, to spread political control. Now you are empowering the old cadre—your past poster squads—giving them quasi-official roles under Clean Sri Lanka. If you do that, this will die in its cradle. Step away from such activity. We have established systems—empower them, and we will support you beyond politics to take the country forward. We are not opposed for the sake of it, but we will oppose if you use this to entrench your political hold—such things set the country ablaze before.

¶ 07 We now see cooperative elections being lost one by one; is this rush to strengthen and expedite your activities because of that? You claimed there was no post-election violence. But even in recent elections, post-election violence had ebbed in Sri Lanka—not only now but in 2015 and 2019 too.

¶ 08 [Interjections and disturbances omitted]

¶ 09 Hon. Presiding Member, I will conclude. As cooperatives are lost, we saw power being misused—tearing up ballot papers, etc. We will not answer personal insults made earlier. The entire youth cohort—those who mounted the last time for Pohottuwa—have vanished; some now preach here. Should we recount how “discipline” was changed—like bombing the Temple of the Tooth? Shall we go on?

¶ 10 [Further disturbances]

¶ 11 Who burned rice mills and stores? Who burned buses? Do not lecture us about discipline after such acts.