The Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, those days it was “Higaman Life”; now it is “Cinnamon Life.” They told us, “If there is political interference, tell us.” Before I begin, for the awareness of the Hon. Deputy Minister who said so, I want to table a letter. This letter is from the Association of Divisional Secretaries and Assistant Divisional Secretaries of Sri Lanka, sent to the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation. It states that a person acting as the Private Secretary to the Hon. State Minister of Lands— I will not mention the name—has, on several occasions, exerted various pressures on Divisional Secretaries in relation to land duties by sending letters. It asks to refrain from such political interference. I table this letter sent by the Association of Divisional Secretaries and Assistant Divisional Secretaries.

¶ 02 You can respond publicly tomorrow. They asked us to prove things before we speak; we can.

¶ 03 Before this Government came, the theme was “then and now are the same.” Listening to Government speeches, what I felt is they say: 2022, 2023 happened like this; it happened then; it can happen now as well—so “then and now, and we too are the same.” Do not be afraid to say “we too are the same.” Otherwise say without shame: “They stole, the others stole, and we stole too.”

¶ 04 It is sad to see the so-called learned of the NPP behaving like pious frauds. In the past, lorries with “Budu Saranai” on the front had stolen goods at the back. Now the learned of the NPP carry “We catch thieves” slogans while hauling stolen goods behind. When caught, those thieves must go to jail, but today the learned, elders and intellectuals of the NPP are trying to brush it off. Remember what happened to those who came in 2019 as elders. If there has been any practical action outside the law here, then we could say theft, fraud, or corruption occurred—Hon. Ajith P. Perera.

¶ 05 But what did you do? You said, “The Indian report is good, nothing beyond that, what more can we say?” Yet, you first said all the coal brought was burnt and that burning was wrong. You erred. The practical reality is that everyone now feels production is poor. There was no theft or corruption; these are not substandard goods? No need to bring documents now, because with the burning of eight vessels’ coal, it is already proven that production is poor. Do the professors and doctors of the NPP not understand that? If so, what I said before has happened. Now when substandard coal is detected, what happens? You are the ones who get embarrassed.

¶ 06 Next, you say fines will be levied. Have you levied them? Has the supplier agreed? The company has not agreed to pay. They say, “Test the retained sample with you first, then we will pay.” So you have no room to levy the fine. You have cornered this company, that’s all.

¶ 07 Then you say that in the past both tenders and non-tender emergency procurements, via Cabinet, were used. But the opportunities you gave were not to the Rajapaksas’ allies alone—rather to the current Mayor of Colombo’s relatives. So it was you who did the deals, not us. You claim these are lies.

¶ 08 You also tell our MP Marikkar to show the account. He has already stated the account, the bank branch, and whose it is. Hon. Nalinda Jayatissa, this is your Government. If your Minister has a backbone, he can go to that branch and show, “Here is my account,” rather than ours doing so. We said it was the aunt’s account. We told you which branch. Now you ask Marikkar to show the account. As the Government, you should go find the relevant bank branch and produce that aunt’s account. Then Marikkar need not show anything. The fear is that if you show it, more things will surface. What logic you bring! If you know, go bring it. Do not wait for us. You claimed 159 will act—do it.

¶ 09 You are not working as you came promising. By writing “Budu Saranai” or “We catch thieves,” you thought the people would accept that you act under the guise of catching thieves.

¶ 10 Another point, Hon. Presiding Member. Hon. Mujibur, if anyone in the backbench thinks they started stealing only in the past six months, that is wrong. They did it then too; history shows it. We thought when we came to Parliament that side was clean. But on every file of theft they shout about, they discuss with the same Minister in the Lobby and proceed—that is what we hear every day, Hon. Presiding Member. Let the learned of the NPP understand that today your President takes instructions from Malik Samarawickrama, with whom you used to dine in the Parliament canteen. Theft is nothing new to you. Let those who rallied around NPP understand: the JVP used all their talk on theft and corruption to fill their own pockets.

¶ 11 You are very skilled at mud-slinging. But remember what is happening to you now. Don’t try to sling mud. Today it is your Government. So do not just talk about theft and fraud; catch the thieves and prove it. That is what people expect. People know you are stealing, but they trusted more that with your supposed cleanliness and wisdom you would ensure theft and fraud do not occur and that culprits receive due punishment. But it is proven you lack the backbone to do so. Knowing theft has happened, knowingly protecting the thieves, and swearing to protect them—that is what the NPP has also fulfilled. With that reminder, I conclude.

¶ 12 Thank you.