Former MP Ranjan Ramanayake is languishing in prison while big-time criminals are pardoned by the President, Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice, says.

Ramanayake’s career and health had been ruined because he fought against corruption, Jayasurya said, yesterda, addressing the media. “This is another example of how there is one law for the rich and the powerful, and another for others.”.

“In recent times, the government is harping on the ‘One Country, One Law’ policy. However, recent events have made it clear that one law exists to protect the powerful while another law exists to oppress the downtrodden. The majority of people today have come to understand this reality,” he said.

Jayasuriya said that the existing laws, rules, and regulations were sufficient to implement the government’s ‘One Country, One Law’ policy. “Justice and the rule of law can only prevail if the police, the public service and the legal sector are not politically influenced. If these are independent, democracy will be protected. People will be assured of their fundamental rights,” he said.

The government had failed to address any of the serious issues that were affecting the country, the former speaker said. The number of Covid-19 patients were rising and deaths had also occurred due to natural disasters such as floods and landslides, Jayasuriya said.

“People are being forced to queue for long hours to obtain essential items, such as food, gas, sugar and milk powder as a result of shortages directly linked to failures in management of the current government. Therefore, it is evident that the lives of the Sri Lankan people today are in complete disarray. They are disappointed and disillusioned as the government has failed to resolve these issues despite receiving unlimited powers through the 20th Amendment and securing a 2/3 majority in Parliament,” he said.

The former Speaker added that the government’s organic fertiliser policy had been a disaster. While organic agriculture was the future, it should be done following expert advice and consultation. It was obvious that the government had taken the decision to go green without any thinking or planning, he said.

“The government decided to ban the import of agrochemicals without talking to anyone. This should have been done differently and now the idea of organic agriculture is tainted. Because there has been no planning, the yield of many crops have drastically reduced not only due to the lack of fertiliser but also due to a decision made by farmers to halt cultivation until a solution is reached.

“Experts have already predicted that reduction of the yield by around 40 per cent is probable in the near future. There is also a significant price increase of vegetables. The lack of any relief on the rising cost of living in the recent Budget has also caused great concern among the public. It must be noted that the failure to compensate for the reduction in yields caused by the fertiliser crisis, and the effects of the human-elephant conflict in the Budget is a serious oversight,” he said.