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‘Full of fancy words but no substance’; ‘no relief for the people’: Opposition blasts Budget 2022
View(s):Government and Opposition lawmakers clashed in Parliament yesterday over the merits and demerits of the Budget presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Friday.
Opening the debate on the Appropriation Bill-2022, SJB MP Harsha de Silva lambasted the government saying the Budget had provided no relief to the people who are weighed down by the high cost of living and struggling to survive.
“ The prosperity of the country does not mean the property of one family. But today only one family is prospering but ordinary people have been left in the lurch,” he said.
The SJB MP said that fiscal indiscipline has put the country in economic peril. “The Government is taking the country on the reverse. We are going backwards as the rulers refuse to listen to experts and do as they please,” he said.
NPP/JVP MP Vijitha Herath described it as a ‘defensive’ Budget. ‘The Budget is full of fancy words, but it has no substance,’ he said.
The JVP MP said that even before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, the decline in the agriculture sector had begun and the Government failed to rein in the rice mafia and help the farmers.
He also said it is amusing to hear from the Finance Minister that the government is fighting corruption when he himself was referred to as ‘Mr. 10 %’ . “Corruption is continuing unabated and even those who supported this government have spoken out on this matter,” he said.
Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that the Government has delivered the best possible relief to the people given the many challenges it is facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “This government has faced many challenges since it took office. Many of the fiscal problems that we face today are due to heavy borrowings by the previous government,” he said.