UNP will win elections: Ajith
The UNP is confident of victory in the next elections and it never wanted to delay them, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ajith P. Perera said in Parliament yesterday.
He was participating in the second reading debate on the budget 2018 proposals.
“Other parties’ symbols may be betel leaf, hand, bell or the lotus bud. What is important is their having a backbone to contest without hindering the elections by various ways including lawsuits,” he said.
The Deputy Minister said the UNP was committed to strengthen democracy and would act against those who attempt to delay elections.
MP Mahinda Rajapaksa charged the government that they were delaying the elections. Then the Deputy Minister asked who delayed the elections other than the Joint Opposition members who filed the cases against holding the elections. Then members of both sides started to shout. At that time, Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala instructed the Deputy Minister to continue with his speech but he offered his time to the opposition members.
Joint Opposition Parliamentarian Kanchana Wijesekara said six persons went before the court against the elections. “First one was from Matara, the Coordinating Secretary to the son of Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, the second was from Paduwasnuwara and he is with Dayasiri Jayasekara and the third was from Haliella and he is working at the Minister Dilan Perera’s Road Development Authority,” MP Wijesekara said. “There are three more and they too are from the SLFP, not supporters of the Joint Opposition,” he said.
The Deputy Minister thanked MP Wijesekara and said the UNP had not attempted to delay the elections. “The UNP expects the elections and is prepared to face it,” he said.
“We are committed to protecting the people’s democratic rights and will not hesitate to take action against anyone who opposes them.
Highways State Minister Dilan Perera said the Authority was not under him and those with it could contest from another party.
Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the Authority did not belong to Dilan Perera, and the third one was from Haliella.
‘Future generation will be made debt free’
The government will not burden the future generation with debt via the meticulously formulated budget 2018, Women and Child Services Minister Chandrani Bandara said.
She was participating in the second reading debate of the Budget 2018 proposals in Parliament yesterday.
Minister Bandara said the budget reduced the prices of many essential items and state employees’ wages were increased.
“The import duty on many food items was reduced. A successful budget merely does not reduce prices and increase salaries. This budget includes mechanisms to reduce the debt burden to release our future generations from the debt burden.
This is a revolutionary budget,” she said. She said drugs and alcohol consumption was a major factor in crimes against women and children. Reducing beer prices would not prevent such crimes and illicit liquor consumption. “Any alcohol or drugs harm people,” she said. Therefore, she urged the Finance Minister to amend this clause in the budget.
Namal fails in Sujeewa’s challenge
Joint Opposition Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa failed to respond in Parliament yesterday to the challenge levelled by International Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe on the content of the Civil Procedure Code.
The two members who are attorneys by profession were at loggerheads during the second reading debate on budget proposals over a number of issues including the bond commission issue, Daisy achchi’s bag of gems (Namal Rajapaksa’s great aunt) and how MP Rajapaksa passed his exams at the Law College.
State Minister Senasinghe was talking over corruptions committed during the Rajapaksa regime when MP Namal Rajapaksa raised a point of order interrupting the minister. “You are talking of thieves and thieveries,” MP Rajapaksa said. “Today the CID informed the bond commission that you made 44 telephone calls to Arjun Aloysius, while you were attending the COPE investigation into bond scam. The one before us is also a thief.”
State Minister Senasinghe responding to MP Rajapaksa said everybody knew MP Rajapaksa’s record of cheating. “How did you get through the exams at the Law College?” queried State Minister. “You wrote answers in a cool room separately from other candidates. You cheated law exams. Can you at least tell what is the first section of the Civil Procedure Code is about? I challenge you to tell the House if possible and prove you know it. What is the first section of the Civil Procedure Code is about.”
“You are calling others cheaters,” MP Rajapaksa said. “How and why did you take 44 calls to Arjuna Aloysius? Tell the House if you can.”
“I raise my question again,” State Minister Senasinghe said. “I will make it easier. Tell the House of any section of the Civil Procedure Code.”
At this stage, MP Rajapaksa requested the Chair to stop Minister slinging mud at other MPs.
“There are some more,” said State Minister Senasinghe. “You are the one who started this. What about the gem bag of Daisy achchi? . I did not talk of how Thajudeen was killed. Thajudeen was killed and police and judicial medical officer reports were forged. Lasantha Wickrematunge was killed when he tried to publish an article on infamous MIG deal.
At this stage MP Rajapaksa challenged to reveal the names of the culprits.
“I do not want to reveal names,” said State Minister Senasinghe. “You can ask your uncles and father who committed those crimes. I do not know why whenever I mention those names, one MP in the opposition gets agitated. It seems the hat fits that head”.
“Tell the House of 44 calls you took to Aloysius,” JO MP Sanath Nishantha asked. “You do not need to worry,” said State Minister Senasinghe. “I did not talk of your elder sister.”
Poachers use hotels, inns to get into Sinharaja forest: Jayaratne
Mahaveli Development and Environment Deputy Minister Anuradha Jayaratne said several hotels and inns around the Sinharajah were reportedly used by poachers to access the forest for illegal activities.
He was responding to a query raised by UNP Parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana during the round of questions for oral answers.
He said these hotels and inns were not operated in the areas under the Forest Conservation Department or in the gazetted areas. “These illegal access paths are being monitored and legal actions would be taken against them if any complaints were made,” he said.
The Deputy Minister said five officers from the Forest Conservation Department and a range forest officer were suspended for felling trees worth over Rs. 90 million at Thabbowa recently. MP Pathirana said Police officers sometimes involved in such crimes.
The Deputy Minister said officials attached to the Forest Conservation Department as well as parliamentarians may be among the illegal racketeers.
Tax collection will double next year: Rajapaksa
The government expects to collect tax two fold in 2018 from the people and businessmen in comparison to the tax collected in 2014, Joint Opposition Parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa said in Parliament yesterday.
He was participating in the second reading debate on the budget 2018 proposals.
The MP said the budget has no proposals to provide reliefs to the public including farmers and investors and the tax collection would increase in future. “IMF officials in Washington have made Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera an obedient disciple,” MP Rajapaksa said.
He queried what had the government done with the collected taxes. “They bought a military ship at a price nearly the price of Mattala Airport construction even there is no war,” Rajapaksa said. “The people were burdened to pay the loss of the bond transaction,” he said.
He said the estimated loss the country incurred due to the bond scam was around Rs. 1,000 billion but it should be around Rs. 1,500 billion. He said the employment rate at 8.4 million two years ago has dropped to 7.9 million.”The unemployment rate has increased by 0.47 million and the government was not able to bring in foreign investments,” he said.
He said the government has burrowed Rs. 2,700 billion.
Budget does not promote green energy: Rathana Thera
The budget 2018 includes many suggestions to protect the environment while promoting small and medium scale industries, but it lacks substantial mechanisms to promote green energy, MP Athuraliye Rathana Thera said.
He was participating in the second reading debate of the budget 2018 in Parliament yesterday.
The Thera commended the government for measures taken through the budget to promote environmentally friendly electric vehicles.
Rathana Thera said most of the state institutions were sold today and many were sold during the Chandrika Bandaranaike regime. “Now the government is wondering what to do with the remains. These tax policies were presented during the J.R. Jayewardene era.
The new open market policy is liberal. If the government’s open market policies are implemented, many industries, especially the footwear sector, will collapse. Therefore, I warn the government to pay heed to the danger,” he said. “This budget is called a blue-green budget, but it promotes industries. This would destroy our green lands,” he said.
“The budget promotes renewable energy, but today we pay more for fuel generated power than for power generated through renewable energy sources.
“The budget has no proposal to address this issue. During the past 3-5 years, $ three billion was spent on importing oil and coal. The budget has certain proposals but nothing substantial to prevent this sum from going out of the country,” Rathana Thera said.
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