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By Sandun Jayawardana  

On Tuesday (22), the second reading of the Budget was passed comfortably by a majority of 37 votes, with 121 votes for and 84 against. Some opposition MPs were quick to point out that 134 MPs voted to make Ranil Wickremesinghe the President in July and claimed Tuesday’s vote showed the government’s majority had eroded further from the 2/3 it had earlier this year. The fact remains however, that it is still a comfortable majority and one that the government will be keen to increase with a few crossovers come the vote on the third reading on December 8. 

The fireworks proper began on Wednesday during the first day of the committee stage debate where the head of expenditure of the President was taken up. President Wickremesinghe was in Parliament to attend the debate and made a hard-hitting speech, insisting that he will not allow anyone to stage another “Aragalaya” (Struggle) series of protests to topple the government. He warned that he will “impose emergency law and deploy the military,” to crush such protests. Mr Wickremesinghe also stressed that he will not go for an early dissolution of Parliament, citing the need to first stabilise the economy.

Mr Premadasa hit back on Thursday when the heads of expenditure of the Defence and Public Security Ministries were among those that were taken up. If the President has any sense of gratitude, he should be thankful to the “Aragalaya,” the opposition leader said. “It was thanks to the “Aragalaya” that he became President. For many days, it was a peaceful people’s struggle. How did it become violent? It was because of the barbaric attacks on “Gota Go Gama” and “Maina Go Gama” by thugs on May 9. That does not mean we condone the violence that was unleashed afterwards. It was wrong to set fire to houses and to hurt and kill people them. That was terrorism. Those who were engaged in such violence must be brought to justice.”

The people’s struggle is democratic and justified. It did not commence with violence. That violence was unleashed from Temple Trees, Mr Premadasa noted.   

Speaking later the same day, President Wickremesinghe, who was participating in his capacity as Minister of Defence, pushed back against claims that he owes his position to the “Aragalaya.” “If the President of this country goes, the Prime Minister should take that position. Besides, according to the law, I should have been the acting president. My house was set on fire, I was told to get out. But, I didn’t quit, that’s why I’m here.”

Mr Wickremesinghe reminded that Mr Premadasa wrote to then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa telling him that he had decided to accept the post of Prime Minister.

Mr Premadasa on Friday stressed that the letter was written after consultations and with the agreement with the SJB and its allies. “The former President repeatedly appealed to me to take over the premiership. I believed it was best to reply to him in writing. I did not only write to accept the premiership,” he said, adding that he submitted four conditions along with the letter in order to form an interim government. Unlike some people, he did not go behind the Rajapaksa’s asking for the PM post, he quipped.

In between this back-and-forth, government and opposition MPs also came to blows, particularly over the huge increase in allocation for defence in the Budget. SJB MP Field Marshal Sarath Foneseka differed from his SJB colleagues regarding this. “You can’t stop spending on security simply on the grounds that there is no war anymore. The armed forces must always be in a state of readiness to meet any security threat. These threats can come without any warning,” he asserted.  

Field Marshal Fonseka however, severely criticised the President’s threat to use force to suppress another struggle. “The people’s sovereignty must be protected. The security forces cannot violate people’s fundamental right to protest. We will not stand by and let these be violated by anyone.”

Even in the midst of such an economic crisis, there has been a 10% increase in allocations for the Defence Ministry and a 14.7% increase for the Public Security Ministry, National People’s Power (NPP) MP Dr Harini Amarasuriya pointed out. “The President said he is working for the silent masses through his principles and this budget. How is he doing that by spending so much on defence and public security?” she queried.

While Mr Wickremesinghe may have forgotten what he said and did in support of the “Aragalaya” at its height, the people have not, Dr Amarasuriya remarked. She claimed that Mr Wickremesinghe’s behaviour has changed because he now unconditionally supports the ruling class. “He has now drawn a line in the sand. The people are on one side and the ruling class is on the other. It is crystal clear as to which side of the line he is on.”

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Leader Maithripala Sirisena also criticised the large allocation given to defence, urging the President to reduce Rs. 100 billion from the Rs. 410 billion allocation for defence and allocate the funds for education.

As a former Defence Minister, Mr Sirisena said he felt the key is not allocating more funds for the defence sector, but in carrying out a wide-ranging restructuring of the armed forces.

All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam described the Defence Ministry as “the curse of the Tamil people,” adding that it is “singularly the most hated arm of government that we can think of.” He noted that the current ratio of armed forces personnel to civilians in the North is 1:14. He also accused the military of continuing to confiscate civilian lands with the permission of the government.

Mr Ponnambalam further accused the government of targeting Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) Convener Wasantha Mudalige and Inter University Bhikkhu Federation (IUBF) Convener Galwewa Siridhamma Thera using the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) because they were trying to hold the government to account for going against the mandate given by the people two years ago.

“When the people are prepared to stand up, and the youth are prepared to stand up and hold those (rulers) to account to the mandate that they gave, then they must be crushed. That is why you need the PTA. With the PTA, there is no justice, there is no law, and there is no order. It is completely to be used at the whims and fancies of those who are ruling the police and the military. The Tamils more than anybody know that, which is why we stand in solidarity with those youth, with those people who are struggling,” he said.

Investigations conducted so far have revealed that Mudalige and Siridhamma Thera were engaged in “terrorist activities,” Public Security Minister Tiran Alles told the House. He claimed further information regarding their activities and who financed them would come out in the near future.

He said police had been stretched thin in trying to handle various protests and blamed this for the rise in drug smuggling and drug use throughout the country, including the use of ice among school students. Minister Alles insisted he will continue to uphold the law no matter what the opposition says.

A vote was taken for the expenditure head of the Defence Ministry after Mr Ponnambalam asked for a division. Accordingly, the expenditure head was passed by 91 votes to 10.

The committee stage debate continues next week.