The Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, it has been 17 years since the 30-year war ended. It was on a day like yesterday that it concluded; on a day like today that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa informed Parliament. Many sacrificed—war heroes, Police, Civil Security and citizens of all communities—Tamil, Sinhala, Hindu, Muslim. Some today cannot bring themselves to call them “war heroes,” yet enjoy the freedom their sacrifice secured.

¶ 02 We did not fight Tamils; we fought the LTTE terrorists—who killed India’s Prime Minister, assassinated our Opposition Leader’s father, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, and other national leaders including Lakshman Kadirgamar; massacred clergy, worshippers at Kattankudy, and civilians. They gave cyanide capsules to schoolchildren. That terror was ended; those cyanide capsules were replaced with pens; children from the North now top national exams and infrastructure was developed. If you cannot give credit to the veterans and leaders then, there is little more to say.

¶ 03 On revenue and taxes: after raising taxes excessively—even slapping 50 percent on youths who aspired to buy a Rs. 12 million car—you now say “no TIN, go to jail,” six months. Before coming to power, when the previous government planned to implement TIN, you said TIN was unnecessary to build the nation. Now after taking office, you threaten jail without a TIN. Many shouting here have never paid income tax in their lives; they do not understand the pressure on ordinary people. You increase taxes without limit and then deploy your usual doctrine—repression—when people struggle to comply.

¶ 04 The Central Bank Governor said the rupee is falling because we must import an extra 0.7–0.9 million litres of fuel per day. Why? To cover the loss from bad coal purchases, we had to generate more power from fuel-based plants, at high global prices of USD 86–102 per barrel, putting pressure on the rupee. That is the cost of the bad coal saga.

¶ 05 You say you protect taxpayers’ money. Where? Rs. 13 million disappeared from a private bank—unknown to the Treasury and Central Bank. About Rs. 600 million disappeared from state banks—unknown to both. RDA made double payments; Rs. 51 million still untraced. SriLankan Airlines paid to wrong accounts in Chennai and Dubai. Hackers have now siphoned around Rs. 900 million from the Treasury—taxpayers’ money raised by squeezing people with TINs and threats. Even at Divisional Secretariats, politically appointed “IT experts” are involved; aid for the “Ditscha” cyclone was misappropriated.

¶ 06 Think of the people. When ministers claim adequate fertilizer exists for Yala, villagers say otherwise. Don’t prioritize only paddy; what about tea, spices and vegetables? The Maha season is coming—what is your plan to provide affordable fertilizer then? The public believes there is no such plan. With global concerns on food security, we too face serious food and energy security challenges. Please focus on these.

¶ 07 Thank you.