The Hon. Ruwan Mapalagama

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Adjournment Debate raised by the Opposition today regarding the procurement of coal for the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant. The motion presented by our friend, Opposition MP S. M. Marikkar, states that in line with Government Procurement Guidelines, questions should be asked about the bidders’ finances, experience, quality of supply, and adequate bonds.

¶ 02 I have listened here from 11.30 a.m. for four to five hours to all the speeches. However, none of the Opposition speeches presented substantial facts to support the motion. All that was presented—by everyone including the fiery senior MP—were mere allegations. Our Minister responded to all those arguments with statistical data, and the Deputy Minister will also respond. What exactly is the Opposition trying to do?

¶ 03 Hon. Presiding Member, there is a fallacy called argumentum ad hominem—attacking the person instead of presenting arguments relevant to the issue. Unfortunately, that is what the Opposition has attempted today. As Government MPs, we clearly understand the pain in these Opposition speeches. Why that pain? For years, coal was brought without tenders, with Cabinet approvals. Now when a tender is conducted, their hurt is palpable. Where is that “little Hanuman” who dreamt of becoming Iceland’s President in the future? He, his brother, and their friendly companies were allowed to import coal without tenders then. Now the new Government is following the tender process, and those who made noise feel the pain. Shouting won’t change the truth. The people of this country know the misdemeanours and the past of those shouting.

¶ 04 On the other hand, what we see is pain. Though the Opposition is divided, they are the same stock. When the National People’s Power (NPP) Government came to office, what did they say from two platforms? That oil fields would appear within three months; that power cuts would resume. Their frustration is that these did not happen.

¶ 05 I heard MP Marikkar this morning say, “We do not hope to keep the country in darkness again to do politics.” That is mere lip service. The 22 million Sri Lankans watching this debate must understand the real nature of this pain. The Opposition tried to claim that this Government is not taking appropriate steps regarding electricity, fuel, and energy—because their companies, the companies of those who scream, would suffer. As our colleague Watagala said, when certain names were read, everyone saw who the kerosene-soaked vultures were. What the Opposition desired was to make the country vulnerable in energy once again and return us to an era of power cuts and darkness. Minister Kumara Jayakody and the subject Ministries dashed those hopes. They expected fresh power cuts to keep the country in darkness; but there is no such Government now. Hence, we understand their pain—sorry, but that is how it is.

¶ 06 Let me also say this: When the new Government took office, a liter of Octane 92 petrol was Rs. 332; now it is Rs. 292—a reduction of Rs. 40. They predicted the dollar would go to Rs. 500, 600, 700. What is happening now is beyond their imagination. Octane 95 went from Rs. 377 to Rs. 340 (down Rs. 37). Diesel from Rs. 307 to Rs. 277 (down Rs. 30). Kerosene from Rs. 202 to Rs. 182 (down Rs. 20). That is why they are hurting. Be patient. We received a five-year mandate. Watch the measures we take over those five years. Don’t panic or rush to bring such motions at Adjournment.

¶ 07 Further, MP S. M. Marikkar made a highly defamatory statement, alleging that there is a bank account at a Homagama bank in the name of the wife’s mother of Minister Kumara Jayakody. Since uttering this, he has left the Chamber. We expect him to present details. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa also challenged the Opposition on this, as did several others on the Government side. So, Marikkar—give the account number; otherwise apologize publicly to Minister Kumara Jayakody, to his wife, and to his mother-in-law. This is not our politics. Baseless lies no longer fly.

¶ 08 This morning, in moving the motion, MP Marikkar himself said the era of deceiving with lies is over. That is the message for the Opposition including MP Marikkar. The era of lying to the people is over. Now is a new political era and culture—not created by them. They are regressive characters, seeking to drag society back to feudalism. It is the great river of people around the NPP that moves society forward. If they still believe they can mislead people with lies, mud-slinging, and slander—sorry. A few might get some petty pleasure, but the general public will not be swayed.

¶ 09 MP Marikkar also said they would bring people to the streets. We saw SJB MPs protesting at the Parliamentary entrance today—that is their democratic right. But before bringing people to the streets, bring your own MPs. Some have one leg with Sajith and the other with Ranil.

¶ 10 We see the behaviour of Opposition MPs these days. First they tried to target Comrade Anura Dissanayake. That did not work. Now they try to attack NPP Cabinet Ministers, male and female, by isolating them. Remember, we know these tactics; we did not descend from the sky into politics. Though we were not in Parliament, our 159 Government MPs are backed by over 4,000 local councillors experienced at the grassroots. As our colleague Watagala said, we know both the beat of the drum and the conch. We understand the aim behind isolating and attacking our Ministers.

¶ 11 When education reforms were done, they tried to isolate and attack Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya; as a Government we protected her. Recently they tried to isolate and attack Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara. Now they are trying to isolate and attack Minister Kumara Jayakody. He is an engineer who left a lucrative salary to serve voluntarily and help rebuild the country—one among hundreds of thousands like that. We will not allow our people to be isolated and assaulted. The 159 Government MPs will defend this Government with one voice. If the Opposition brought a motion on coal today, they ended up with neither coal nor ash—sorry!