The main opposition, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) said today it would support the interim budget presented by the new government with a host of measures to give relief to the people.

Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva during the debate on the interim budget said there were populist measures announced in the budget to cushion the cost-of-living burden and as such his party would support the budget.

He said his party would make a constructive criticism on some of the budgetary provisions which seem unrealistic.

"This is nothing new but an alteration of the budget we presented. The new government has cut some of the allocations we made and used them to increase allocations to some other sectors. Anyway, this budget can be passed only with the support of the opposition. Therefore, we also deserve credit for it. Without our support, the budget will not be realised," Mr. de Silva said.

He said it was questionable whether the government could raise sufficient revenue to meet the expenditure which would result in handing out these benefits.
"The government has announced Rs.20,000 for an expectant mother. Annually, around 400,000 babies are born. It means the government needs Rs.8 billion for this purpose but only Rs.2 billion had been allocated," he said.(Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera)