Budget promises heaven but leads people to hell: SJB

Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday described President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Budget speech as another ploy to cheat people who have been hit hard by the economic crisis.

“It promises heaven but will lead the people to hell. The President also denigrated Buddhism by starting his Budget speech with references to Buddhist doctrines. This Budget pleases the rich and oppresses the poor. It is nothing but an attempt to make the IMF happy. He should have first considered how much we could not achieve from the promises that had been made in the previous budget rather than embellishing his speech with empty promises. We call on people not to fall for these promises. As per a recent survey by LearneAsia the number of people in poverty has increased from three million to seven million in this country. None such concerns have been addressed by the proposals the president put forward in this budget,” Premadasa said.