Harini flays police for using water cannon on women’s demonstration

51% budget cut for Women and Child Affairs Ministry:

By Saman Indrajith

NPP MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya told Parliament yesterday that her party would not have any more talks with the incumbent government on social reforms.

Speaking in Parliament soon after the police used water cannon to disperse an NPP women’s wing protest near Parliament entrance, Dr. Amarasuriya said that they had conducted a peaceful protest against the budget, which proposed a 51% reduction in allocations for the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs.

“Women and children suffer untold hardships. In such a context, the government has proposed to cut down funds for women and children by 51 percent. We took to the streets against this. It is our democratic right. The government got police anti-riot squads to fire water cannon at us.

“The acting IGP seems to be hell-bent on making his political masters happy. That was why he ordered his men to attack a peaceful protest of women. We would have no more talks with them for social reforms,” Dr. Amarasuriya said.