The Hon. Sugath Wasantha de Silva

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I heard much about the JVP’s conscience. We are a party with a conscience—born of the desire to uplift people’s lives. Yesterday, Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the President freed a Rs. 10 billion package for low-income and Aswesuma beneficiaries facing harsh conditions. We have kept inflation around 5 percent. No amount of fudged statistics or “punakku” talk will fool people.

¶ 02 Those who tried to make people drink “punakku” are politically finished; some parties have become irrelevant or are in the dustbin. The people, using their sovereign power, sent 159 NPP MPs here and elected a President—not because of “punakku,” but because they recognized our conscience and commitment. We held only three percent and three seats—but broke that record. After “Didwa,” we released repeated relief—Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 50,000 tranches—over 90 percent paid.

¶ 03 We hope the two-week truce extends. With global shocks and fuel fears, we engaged Russia, India, China to strengthen supply chains—successfully, as shown by multiple Russian leaders’ visits and Indian and Chinese support. We did not halt initiatives midway.

¶ 04 Today, on April 8, the refurbished Pettah Central Bus Stand reopens with inclusive facilities—sign language digital boards, tactile paths, and accessibility—thanks to the Clean Sri Lanka team. We used to risk our lives to board buses there; now we mark a transformation.

¶ 05 We must move to a passenger-centric transport system—serving persons with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, and those temporarily infirm. We have also introduced ten low-floor buses. Some in private bus leadership mock low-floor buses, claiming only one percent are disabled; actually 8.7 percent are. People with wheelchairs were left behind; one visually impaired gentleman here once wept explaining how the bus left him. We cannot perpetuate that. Protect SLTB’s Metro unit and the low-floor system; ensure EPF/ETF obligations by private operators who exploit workers. Those who say Treasury support to a public transport company is wrong, or oppose Rs. 200 daily top-ups for Malaiyaha workers, expose their Shylock mentality.

¶ 06 May transport modernize swiftly, guaranteeing rights and dignity to all users. Thank you for the opportunity, Hon. Deputy Speaker.