By Saman Indrajith

Sri Lanka needs a new Constitution that protects the rights of all citizens, and implementing 13A or 13+ is not a solution to the problems faced by the people, National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, addressing Parliament, has said. A referendum should be held, on the new Constitution to be made, so that the people would be able to decide its fate, Dissanayake said.

“We propose a new Constitution to solve people’s issues but we know the political elite won’t support such a move. You cannot tolerate unity between ethnicities. These people want racism and racist violence. Who brought in anti-Muslim hate? Racism is your only political tool. Now you are talking about equality and rights?” he said.

He also commended the Supreme Court over its decision on holding the local council elections. NPP leader Dissanayaka told Parliament that the government took various steps to prevent the local council elections from happening.

“Some of these measures were constitutional. Some were mass scale misinformation campaigns. They even sent their henchmen to Court to petition against the election. The Supreme Court that had been giving landmark verdicts to protect democracy and people’s rights recently has thwarted all these efforts,” he said.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is also undermining independent commissions in a bid to postpone elections, he said. “Look at what they are trying to do to the Elections Commission”.

Dissanayaka said that some government MPs have accused the NPP of receiving money through illegitimate means and that the NPP leaders have various nefarious connections.

“Now, if I was the government, I would carry out an investigation. I will see if someone is making money through illegal means and if they are evading taxes. There is no point in making ludicrous accusations in Parliament. These people are using Parliamentary privileges,” he said.

He also said that the NPP is ready to debate about the economy with Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, who are the most recent Ministers of Finance.

“Ranil has addressed the nation six times, in the last few months. Made two policy statements in Parliament. And several times more in Parliament. The man has a mania for sitting in the Speaker’s chair and addressing Parliament. Recently, he went to Kandy and made Ambassadors and High Commissioners go there. The bill to feed the Ambassadors, at Ambepussa, was over 300,000 rupees. It was just the same with Independence Day,” he said.

Sri Lanka decided not to pay external debt in April 2022. If Sri Lanka had serviced the debt, it would have had to pay five billion U.S Dollars.

“This gave us time. We used the money, we would have used to service debt, to buy fuel, gas and some medicine and claim that the economy is back on track. We have a breathing space because we are not paying back the debt. Ranil and his gang have not done anything for the economic recovery,” he said.

The other plan is to shrink the economy, the NPP said. For this the interest rates were increased and now the purchasing power of the people have declined, Dissanayaka added.

“As a result, the industries are on the verge of collapse. Construction sector has collapsed and a large number of factories have closed down. What recovery when you are shrinking. The other plan, they have, is unfair taxation. In 2020, when the economy had some semblance of normalcy, Gotabaya Rajapaksa reduced taxes, created inflation and brought the economy down. Increasing, or reducing taxes, depends on the overall context of the economy,” he said.

Out of the Sri Lankan workforce, only 15 percent are professionals. These professionals have to be protected but by imposing unfair taxation, the government is encouraging the brain drain.

“It is natural for someone to adjust his or her life based, on the salary. Suddenly, the government decided to take a chunk off the salary. This has affected people adversely and they are leaving the country in droves. At least increase the taxable threshold to 200,000 rupees,” he said.

The government has been making contradictory statements about 13A, he said. The NPP has no problem if the northern people are given back their land, currently held by government agencies. In countries like Sri Lanka, land is not just an exchangeable commodity. It represents people’s link to the land, he said.

“Why are two different opinions being expressed? Ranil and Mahinda may have different ideas. So please talk among yourselves and give us your written proposal on implementing 13A. Give us a base document signed by the President, Prime Minister and Mahinda Rajapaksa. These three people are saying different things. In recent decades, Sri Lankan politics were driven by racism. At a time when elections are near, the establishment is using the same tactics,” he said.