News
State Minister to resign
Provincial Councils and Local Government State Minister Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday announced his resignation from his state ministerial post and the post of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Polonnaruwa District organiser from May 1.
“I made promises to the people of my district and I could not deliver on those promises,” the state minister told the Sunday Times, stating that he took the decision on account of the plight faced by farmers in his district due to the fertiliser crisis.
In a five-page letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mr Ranasinghe has outlined the immense difficulties farmers have undergone since the Government introduced a ban on chemical fertiliser.
He has cited that the organic fertiliser programme was the main reason for the rapid fall in popularity of the Government.
Compared to the paddy harvest obtained using chemical fertiliser, this year’s Maha Season harvest had fallen by 5) to 70% following the ban, he claims in his letter.
Noting that this has a severe impact on the country’s food security during the present economic crisis,
Mr Ranasinghe has requested the President to resolve issues faced by farmers by the Sinhala and Tamil New Year or at least before the end of April. If this did not happen, he has stressed that he will have no option but to resign from his state ministerial post and as SLPP’s Polonnaruwa District organiser.
After handing over his resignation letter, Mr Ranasinghe said he intended to function as an independent MP in Parliament.
Meanwhile, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) leader Senthil Thondaman said his party had given the Government two weeks to fulfil four conditions. They are: increasing wages of plantation workers, resolving the cost of living issue, uplifting workers’ living conditions and putting a stop to harassment of workers by plantation companies.
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