by Saman Indrajith

The government has brought about emergency laws as it is worried of the possibility of people taking to the streets against the suffering, says the main Opposition SJB.

Addressing a press conference held at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo on Friday, Chief Opposition Whip and Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella said that the government was engulfed by the fears of public outcry and massive protests.

“It is afraid that people will take to the streets. That happened in India when the government there could not control the prices and provide for people. It is easy to predict that the public outraged by the shortages and suppression by the government could repeat the same here. So they have introduced emergency rules to mobilise the forces against such rallies and protests,” Kiriella said.

He said that the government introduced the emergency rules stating that it was for the purpose of price controls of essential goods. “You do not need emergency laws to implement price controls. We have enough laws for that purpose. We have the Consumer Affairs Act and the prices of essential goods and services could be controlled under the provisions of that Act,” he said.

The Chief Opposition Whip said that the government was gripped by the fear of a wave of public protests. “It is afraid that it would face the same fate that its Indian counterpart had experienced when around 2.5 million farmers took to the streets of New Delhi several months back.

“The government knows that whenever it opens the country there would be protests by public servants, teachers, farmers and youth will come out condemning this rule by an impotent cabal. Some political parties have already made public statements to that effect and pledged that they would bring people to the capital to protest against the government.

“It is for the purpose of controlling that rising opposition against the government that they have introduced the emergency rules,” Kiriella said.

SJB National List MP Mayantha Dissanayake also addressed the press.