The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law
Hon. Lakmali Hemachandra stated that the Government is seeking to sustain economic growth and livelihoods by cushioning fuel price increases, with the Treasury absorbing Rs. 20 per litre on petrol and Rs. 100 per litre on diesel. She argued that such relief is a governmental duty given fuel’s wider impact on the economy, and referred to the effects of the Easter Sunday attacks and the pandemic on tourism and other sectors. She also challenged the Opposition to state what relief measures it had provided while in office.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 This year we are striving to prevent a fall in growth and to sustain the economy and livelihoods.
¶ 02 Fuel is like the blood that runs through the economy. When fuel prices rise, the economy is affected. That is why we intervene: Rs. 20 per litre of petrol and Rs. 100 per litre of diesel will be absorbed by the Treasury to keep prices at a manageable level. Providing such relief is a duty of a Government — we are performing it. Can anyone here deny it?
¶ 03 Easter Sunday crippled tourism; then the pandemic collapsed all sectors. Instead of querying when this or that relief will be received, the Opposition should tell us what reliefs they provided in their time. We function as a responsible Government; we still lament there is no responsible Opposition. Thank you, Madam Deputy Chairperson of Committees.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 8 April 2026 ·No. 23474 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 April 2026. No. 23474. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/997