Ashok Abeysinghe says ministers with slave mindset are praising a ‘failed budget’

by Saman Indrajith

Kurunegala District SJB MP Ashok Abyesinghe on Wednesday (18) described the budget 2021 as a ‘failed budget’ that could not provide any immediate relief to COVID-19 hit people and it contained only proposals to help government leaders’ businessmen friends to launder their black money.

Participating in the second reading debate on Budget 2021, MP Abeysinghe said: “This is the first budget of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. I describe this as a failed budget. It has failed to provide any instant relief to people affected by the pandemic. It has provided tax reliefs to the cronies of the government. It contains proposals to increase the debt burden of people while helping their friends to launder their black money.

“The figures in the budget speech and budget summary are two different kinds.

“Some ministers who spoke earlier in the day said that during the times of yahapalana government budgetary allocations had been made to build personal images of the then government’s leaders. They have forgotten who had made use of budgetary allocations to build their images by allocating Rs 4 billion from the budgets to build harbours where ships do not come, airports where planes do not land, conference halls where there are no conferences and stadiums where there are no matches. You have a slave mindset. Mahathma Gandhi has said that slavery is also when the ruled continue to speak the best of the ruler irrespective of suppression and oppression. You have the same mind set. You are oblivious to obvious truths because of that slave mindset.

“Public servants have not been given anything by this budget. The country’s workforce is 8,500,000 out of which 1,400,000 are public servants. Their overtime and batta payments and other allowances have been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everybody expected that they would be given some relief from the budget.

“This government came to power promising one law for all. MP Pillayan, who is in remand custody, is free to move about because he is from the ruling party. SJB MP Rishad Bathiudeen, who is also in remand prison, is not at least allowed to come to Parliament because he is from the opposition. That is how one law for all under the current government.”