The Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe - Deputy Minister of Labour

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, when Hon. Sajith Premadasa, the Leader of the Opposition, moved the motion to suspend the day’s business to discuss the Easter attack, it reminded me of the Opposition’s fate.

¶ 02 Today is like a day of national mourning for the Opposition, in two ways. Recently, they went to the launch of Gammanpila’s book; now they are scratching their heads, rubbing their bodies, smearing oil, and howling like beaten dogs—the Opposition grandees. That is one. Next, the Iran–Trump war: they cheered it on while our people suffered—queues for fuel, rising prices, power cuts. Now even that has reached a ceasefire of sorts. So I feel today is a national day of grief for them. That is why Hon. Sajith Premadasa himself signed and brought this motion to suspend the sitting—no one else.

¶ 03 Gammanpila’s book was launched. For a month he kept saying the masterminds would be revealed on the 31st. They went and sat in the front row to see it. The Hon. Member who spoke before me is a Catholic MP. I think more Catholic MPs will speak after this.

¶ 04 I ask: all this time you accused the Rajapaksas—can you now stand shoulder to shoulder with them and deliver justice to victims? Right next to your seat, two seats away, sat former President Maithripala Sirisena, who was ordered to pay compensation over a case related to the Easter attack. You sat with him in the same row. Can you, while sitting in that row, deliver justice—not only to our beloved Catholic faithful but to the entire country?

¶ 05 Some say it was “AI Sajith.” Others say he went unknowingly. Different people in different communities spin different tales. At least get together and say one story. We don’t even know if it was “AI Sajith” or otherwise.

¶ 06 [Expunged on the order of the Chair.]

¶ 07 If you cannot read politics even to that extent, if your vision is that blurred, how will you lead the Opposition and the people? You are preparing to run for President—how will you become President?

¶ 08 Hon. Presiding Member, we must say: do not try to mislead the people any further. At least be humble. Admit a mistake was made—accept it. At the very least, accept it now. Instead, you try to whitewash; but when you try to clean, the stain spreads everywhere, like a flower thrown at a fan. It has spread throughout Parliament as well. You cannot fix this further.

¶ 09 The Easter Sunday attack was not a single incident but the culmination of a chain of events: sterilization scares, banned gels, banned brassieres, and the “forced sterilization” canard. Dr. Shafi, who was accused then, has now been fully acquitted and freed of those allegations. Back then, a certain Rajapaksa said, “We will compensate every mother sterilized by Shafi.” Those same Rajapaksas are now sitting in the same row with “AI Sajith.” With so many lies told, you cannot escape public scrutiny now.

¶ 10 All those events were tangled to grab power. It would have been good if those responsible were present today. In Gammanpila’s book, among the alleged masterminds, someone in the front row of the Opposition in a sashed shawl should have been here—but he is absent. Perhaps he thinks people, like him, forget history. No, Namal, the people have not forgotten how you destroyed the economy and, in pursuit of power, committed various wrongs including exploiting the Easter attack. Therefore, during this debate on the motion to suspend business on the Easter attack, it would have been good if they were here.

¶ 11 Not only that—three or four days later, we saw that earlier in this Parliament, a name of an alleged mastermind was revealed: Hon. Sarath Weerasekera named someone and accused Hon. Mujibur Rahuman of having links to the attack. We ask: how many days have passed since the 31st—and since that statement? Until today’s statements in this House, at least Hon. Sajith Premadasa or anyone from the SJB has not made a single statement in defence of Mujibur Rahuman. Yes, you know your nature. When such statements were made and attacks launched on him, you did not even minimally act to protect him. So, to Hon. Mujibur Rahuman, I must say: there is a saying, “If you sleep with dogs, you rise with fleas.” Something like that has befallen him. We do not at all believe he has any such connection.