• Says SLPP hierarchy extremely unhappy over delay in getting cabinet posts

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

There is a high possibility of defeating the budget 2023 unless President Ranil Wickremesinghe appoints a new cabinet with the list of names submitted by the SLPP before presenting the budget in Parliament on November 14, the SLFP claimed yesterday.

Senior Vice President of the SLFP and Galle District Parliamentarian Shan Wijayalal De Silva told the media at the party office that the SLPP hierarchy was extremely unhappy over the continuous delay in giving cabinet posts to SLPP members nominated by the party.

 “Even the cabinet aspirants like S.B. Dissanayaka have hinted that the support of a large section of SLPP members was not sure for the budget 2023 if the new cabinet was not formed with SLPP nominated parliamentarians. Therefore, a snap parliamentary election is not a slim chance,” he added.
Commenting on the reported comments made by President Wickremesinghe that he took over a country similar to that of the cruise ship ‘Titanic’ that perished after hitting an iceberg in 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, Mr. De Silva said ‘the utterances of President Wickremesinghe were very true as Sri Lanka has totally been irreversibly destroyed under his command.  

With the illogical and prohibitive tax hike, the small and middle level enterprises will  collapse  and confidence on the government among nearly 8.3 million workforce in the private and public sector will also be lost, Mr. De Silva stressed. 

“The main source of income for the state is tax revenue, no doubt about it. But the tax collection has to be done in a way that stimulates the economy, enhance exports and motivates the industry. The new tax regime introduced by the government at a time with inflation hitting 90% and a vast majority of people trying hard to make ends meet, will put the life of 22 million Sri Lankans in further misery and despair, he said.