The Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala

¶ 01 Hon. Chair, I am pleased to speak on the first day of the Committee Stage debate on the 2026 Budget covering many important Heads, namely, His Excellency the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Parliament, and several Commissions. Funds for 2026 are to be approved under these Heads, so this is very important.

¶ 02 I wish to recall the purpose and functioning of the Independent Commissions. The previous speaker, a Minister, also commented on their functioning. Commissions are appointed to function independently—so that democracy and the rights of all citizens are protected. When in Opposition, one values these Commissions; but once in Government, their functioning is criticized. If there are efficiency issues due to lack of officers or resources, that is another matter. But weakening their powers and reverting to the old position is a different issue.

¶ 03 We saw a move to give powers of transfers and promotions of police officers—currently with the National Police Commission—back to the IGP. That would be wrong. If there are issues of efficiency, let’s discuss them. The very name says “Independent Commission”—to avoid partisan action. When in Opposition, Commissions are good; one year into Government, Commissions are bad. That is now the claim. You yourselves once spoke strongly in favour of these Commissions.

¶ 04 Many Members said this Government is run from Pelawatta. We allocate money to the President, the PM’s Office, and Parliament; therefore Commissions are even more needed today. Yesterday, during the Budget debate, even the Leader of the House accepted, “We administer from Pelawatta.” “Sedan” refers to the JVP Headquarters. Then is that not partisan? So we state clearly: the Government is now eager to exercise its executive authority. You once spoke of more democracy, more independence, and justice; but after coming to power, what has happened? You try to implement what you want and dismantle, within a year, the attributes necessary in a democratic state.

¶ 05 As an Opposition, we clearly state we worked hard to establish Independent Commissions. The JVP under Anura Kumara Dissanayake and others in Parliament then supported these through the 19th Amendment and later developments. The people did not expect this from you. They thought a better Government would protect their rights. Now we see the other side.

¶ 06 Let me also say this. Many of your Members spoke. If you understand public opinion, you would know: in the 2023–2024 cooperative elections you won; you said, “This will be the public mood in upcoming elections” and it proved so. In the presidential election you rose from 3% to 43%; then in the parliamentary election 159 MPs were elected on that wave. Remember: after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President, he had to wait to dissolve Parliament; after months, they won two-thirds with 145 seats initially and then more crossing. That wave brought 159 MPs. That is true.

¶ 07 Back then, your Anura Kumara called those MPs “coconut fronds” and “driftwood” carried by the flood. He compared it to flood debris after a river swells. That is what he called Gotabaya’s Government’s MPs. We will not call you that today, though we could. You are people’s representatives. I only recall what was said then. Please listen to what I say.

¶ 08 Judging from your views now on Independent Commissions, we see already in the first year you have moved to interfere with the Police Commission and claim many Commissions are inactive. If they are inactive, first provide resources and appoint necessary officers to activate them, rather than crippling or destroying Commissions. The people gave you 159 seats not to go backwards but to go forward. The President himself said only a higher standard can defeat us—so rise to a higher standard. But disabling Commissions won’t make you better. We welcome genuine measures: saving money, stopping waste and corruption—we agree. But do not speak good on one side while acting badly on the other. It looks like “Miguel by day, Daniel by night”.

¶ 09 Today the Prime Minister said he does not understand the Opposition’s logic on some matters. We say the same to you: check what you said before the election and what you do now—you will see the logic. The people who once supported your cooperative victories are now rejecting you. Yes, you have 160 here. That’s fine. But it’s not inside; you must have it outside among the people. Gotabaya used a two-thirds majority to increase executive powers via constitutional changes. Numbers here rose beyond 150, but after a year or so, what happened? At the end he had to flee from the back of the President’s House. I don’t say it must be like that again; I say act with understanding. People’s power must be understood correctly. Do not assume you will always hold power.

¶ 10 People had high hopes in you because after Covid the country went bankrupt. You had contested earlier and lost; this time they looked to you. Therefore, if you now attack the people’s independence by criticizing or disabling Commissions established through the people’s mandate, many problems will arise. I will not dwell more on that. Let me touch on a few other points.

¶ 11 At ground level, after the local government elections, some officials acted according to their own preferences when constituting councils. Today, first Budgets of local bodies are coming. Those officials who once displayed bias now see the result—yesterday six councils lost their Budgets; one was won.