• Lalkantha to solve farmer crisis in ’27; IMF reviewing 2026 Budget, Executive Board decision pending
• Govt. says it rejected IMF’s proposed property tax, delayed till 2027; Jagath says yet to fulfil promises
• Sujeewa claims Govt. ministers travelled Business Class after getting Economy Class tickets to the UK
• Wasantha speaks of bond scam without any names, Sujeewa tries to respond; Speaker warns Sujeewa
• Sajith, Namal turn down Govt.’s ‘use and return’ double cabs; DV says vehicle permits stopped by GR
• After touring China, Tilvin to travel to India; Govt. to call all-party meeting to solve deadlock on PC Polls
• Ranjith says JVP/NPP has 159 to formulate law for PCs; Bimal ready for polls, says Opposition will lose
• JVP/NPP budgets defeated in Kandaketiya, Dodangoda, Padiyathalawa, Uva Paranagama, Panduwasnuwara
• Ruling party continues losing streak in cooperative societies, loses control of key Kotapola cooperative
• Opposition rally under fire by Govt.; AKD says Keppetipola team and Don Juan Dharmapala team united
• Tilvin says forgiving traitors is not JVP policy; JVP ready to bring 50,000 to Colombo to counter 5,000
• Wimal’s NFF says won’t attend rally, lays down conditions; SLPP hits RW for breaking party when Prez
• RW dismisses rally when asked, saying ‘no rally’; UNPers unhappy that RW treated SLPPers, not UNPers
• Harin warns SJB saying SJBers will join UNP if both don’t unite; SJBers unhappy over Sajith’s Indian tour
• UNP supports JVP/NPP to pass its budget in Arachchikattuwa LG; Namal meets Sagala to invite UNP
• Namal visits RW’s Flower Road Office, no other UNP seniors; Wajira greets Namal and leaves office
• Namal back at SLFP Headquarters to get SLFP support for rally; returns for first time after leaving to form SLPP
• Namal meets ITAK’s Suma to discuss politics, rally; southern MPs treated to lunch at Prabha’s village
• Dilith hosts Sajith and Opposition MPs at home after forming new coalition; AKD to meet ITAK this week
• CIABOC facing conundrum over financial laws, AG’s assistance sought; Samantha releases another list

The 2026 Budget presented by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) saw its second reading being passed in Parliament by an unprecedented majority of 118 votes, with 160 votes in favour, 42 votes against, and eight abstentions on Friday (14). Several Opposition members also voted in favour of the Government’s Budget.

Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) Jeevan Thondaman (Ceylon Workers’ Congress) as well as Mano Ganesan, P. Digambaram, and V. Radhakrishnan representing the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) voted in favour of the Budget, while MPs of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) abstained from voting.

Following the vote, Ganesan explained in the Chamber that the support was based on confidence in the President’s commitment to deliver a daily wage of Rs. 1,750 for plantation workers. He said the wage increase must be applied uniformly across all three State-run plantation companies, the 22 Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), and smallholder estates operating in 12 districts.

Meanwhile, ITAK MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam explained on Friday that his party would abstain from voting as President AKD had agreed to confer with the party on issues faced by the Tamil community. The meeting between the President and ITAK members, it is learnt, is expected to take place on Wednesday (19) or Thursday (20).

However, the Government’s proposal to pay Rs. 200 as a daily attendance incentive to estate workers from State funds resulted in quite a debate in the House, with some members of the Opposition criticising the decision, claiming there were legal impediments to paying taxpayers’ monies to employees of RPCs. 

This issue dominated the final day’s debate on the second reading of the Budget, with Minister Vijitha Herath claiming that there was no legal impediment to making the payment since the Government would be allocating the funds to the Plantation Ministry.

Meanwhile, Opposition MPs representing the estate sector have spoken in support of the Government’s proposal and have called on their Opposition colleagues not to oppose it. Digambaram called out several Opposition MPs for opposing the minimum daily wage hike for estate workers proposed in the Budget. 

“I would like to know this, as there are some Opposition factions that oppose this wage hike. MP Namal Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) MP Nizam Kariapper oppose this move because the salaries are being paid from taxpayers’ money. They need to understand that this community has earned for the State over the last 200 years. If not for them, then who do you provide this to?” he asked in Parliament.

President AKD had promised a Rs. 1,750 daily wage for estate workers last month, and presenting the Budget, he said that the daily wage would be increased from the current Rs. 1,350 to Rs. 1,550 from January 2026 and would be further increased to the promised Rs. 1,750 with the Government’s Rs. 200 incentive for attendance.

Following AKD’s proposal for the estate workers in the Budget, some plantation workers lit firecrackers in their home areas to celebrate the announcement of the Government’s decision to raise the daily wage of plantation workers to Rs. 1,750. Plantation workers in the Agarapathana area had even prepared milk rice and celebrated the announcement.

Farmers’ crisis

However, the Government, while addressing the long-standing issue of daily wages of estate workers, is yet to resolve the continuing crisis with the country’s farming community. From paddy farmers to vegetable farmers, there are many islandwide agitation campaigns expressing displeasure in the Government’s failure to effectively address their issues as promised in the run-up to last year’s elections.

There are now daily agitations by farmers, especially onion and potato farmers, who claim they are facing financial bankruptcy due to an inability to sell their harvest. Joining the farmers in their protests, Local Government councillors at the Dambulla Pradeshiya Sabha attended council sessions last week wearing garlands made of big onions while marching into the council demanding solutions to the farmers’ issues.

Several Government ministers, however, have claimed that the issues faced by the farmers will be resolved next year. Responding to this, the farmers have asked what the Government expected them to do about the losses incurred by them at present, which could prevent them from cultivating for the next season.

Referring to the ongoing crisis faced by potato and onion farmers, Agriculture Minister K.D. Lalkantha, who is among the Government ministers currently facing the wrath of farmers, claimed in Parliament that consumers would have to support the farmers. 

He noted that the Government would extend its maximum support to farmers during the next harvest period, but that it would lead to price hikes in the local market, resulting in consumers having to pay the price. “There are issues that take place during harvest seasons in agriculture. These have been happening in the past as well,” he said.

The Minister further explained that the Government would offer a support price of Rs. 150 per kilo of onions, which would mean consumers would have to pay at least Rs. 200 a kilo in the market, and similarly, the price of potatoes would surge to around Rs. 300 a kilo once the new support price mechanism was implemented by the Government.

“We will address the crisis affecting cultivations. But consumers should be prepared to pay more for their purchases. We ask that no one grumbles then,” Lalkantha said, which also serves as a warning to consumers.

IMF evaluation

Meanwhile, the 2026 Budget presented by President AKD is currently being evaluated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The fund has stated that its Executive Board decision on the disbursement of the sixth tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme will be announced after the ongoing evaluation on Sri Lanka being able to achieve the revenue targets for 2026.

However, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa noted in Parliament that even a pre-school child could fill the Treasury by overly taxing the people. He noted that the Government had overly taxed the people and collected over Rs. 287 billion as State revenue, exceeding the revenue target of 15% of GDP set by the IMF. 

According to the IMF, the revenue target for 2025 is 15% of GDP.

Saying no to IMF

Meanwhile, senior Government Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe noted that contrary to the criticism levelled by the Opposition that the Government was only following the dictates of the IMF, the Government had rejected some proposals by the fund regarding the 2026 Budget. 

He told Parliament during the second reading debate on the 2026 Budget that the Government had turned down the proposal to impose a property tax from next March and that the proposed tax was now expected to be introduced in 2027.

Samarasinghe has further noted: “We also turned down an IMF proposal for a salary increment which is less than the inflation rate. We informed the IMF that a salary hike would have to be more than the inflation rate as per the mandate we have received.”

Several weeks back, ‘The Black Box’ revealed the discussion that had taken place between President AKD and the IMF delegation that was in the country at the time where the President had refused to implement the proposed property tax in the form of an imputed rental income tax. AKD had said that the Government had a plan to achieve the revenue targets set for next year without implementing the proposed property tax.

JVP/NPP MP’s acceptance

However, JVP/NPP MP Jagath Manuwarna has admitted in Parliament that he is not fully satisfied with the Government’s performance thus far since it has failed to fulfil every expectation of the masses.

“We have not been able to fulfil every expectation, but it is not an issue as there is time to make achievements. Also, the people are not in a hurry for reforms,” he has said, adding: “We will wait and see how our Government will perform next year.”

From economy to business

Meanwhile, an incident where members of the Government had travelled overseas on upgraded airline seats was revealed in Parliament by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

MP Sujeewa Senasinghe has alleged during the debate on the 2026 Budget that four ministers had travelled in Business Class on a SriLankan Airlines flight to the UK despite being issued Economy Class tickets.

Senasinghe has said the incident amounted to misappropriation of public funds and has called for an investigation into the matter. He has further alleged that the ministers had initially boarded and taken their seats in the Economy section but had discreetly moved to Business Class.

The Government, however, has denied Senasinghe’s claim, saying that such an incident had not taken place.

However, Senasinghe’s speech resulted in a heated debate between him and Minister Samarasinghe over a statement made by the latter about the former’s alleged involvement in attempts to clear the controversial Central Bank bond scam under the former ‘Yahapalana’ Government. Samarasinghe has claimed that the Opposition is in a lost state and that those who had written books about the Central Bank bond scam have been exposed.

Senasinghe has objected to Samarasinghe’s claim while Samarasinghe has maintained that he did not mention any name.

The debate that took place even resulted in the Speaker having to warn Senasinghe that he would be removed from the Chamber if he failed to take his seat.

No cabs for Opposition

Meanwhile, Opposition and SJB Leader Premadasa as well as Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs Namal Rajapaksa and D.V. Chanaka informed Parliament that the SJB and SLPP, respectively, did not want the double cabs being offered by the Government to MPs on a use-and-return basis.

Premadasa has further noted that while MPs did not require vehicle permits, such benefits should instead be extended to professionals and skilled workers in the State sector to encourage them to remain in service.

Namal has told Parliament that the three SLPP MPs did not want the vehicles and that they would direct them to the Health Ministry.

Chanaka has meanwhile pointed out in Parliament last Thursday (13) that the previous Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) Government had stopped issuing vehicle permits to MPs and that there has been no change to the policy. “Therefore, it is nothing new for the Government to say that duty-free vehicle permits will not be issued to MPs. It has not been done since 2020,” Chanaka claimed. 

He added: “We would like to ask AKD, Harini Amarasuriya, and Vijitha Herath whether they got vehicle permits in 2020. The Government is boasting about stopping MPs’ vehicle permits. There is nothing for the Government to stop as it has already been stopped.”

Tilvin to India

Meanwhile, the JVP’s Tilvin Silva, it is learnt, is to engage in an official tour of India.

Silva, who recently engaged in a three-week tour of China, is now making his next key visit to India. It will be interesting to see Silva’s visit to India since it will be one filled with historical significance.

Silva is one of the few hardline JVPers who had played an active role in the party’s anti-Indian protests as well as the insurgency that followed. 

PC Polls

Meanwhile, as predicted in ‘The Black Box’ a few weeks ago, the Government is looking at convening an all-party meeting to discuss and resolve the current legal issues that prevent the holding of the delayed Provincial Council Elections.

Provincial Councils Minister Chandana Abayarathna has noted that the Government has resorted to convening an all-party meeting as the law under which the Provincial Council Elections are to be held is not clear due to the current legal status.

The confusion started in 2017 when the mixed electoral system was introduced for Provincial Councils and Parliament rejected the delimitation report submitted by then Provincial Councils Minister Faiszer Musthapha, with even the Minister himself voting against the report. 

The Speaker had later appointed a committee headed by the then Prime Minister to review the delimitation report and submit a report to the President within two months of the Minister having submitted the rejected report. However, Provincial Council Elections continued to face a legal block since the committee report was not received by the then President within the allocated timeframe.

However, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara claimed that the incumbent Government was not planning on holding the Provincial Council Elections any time soon. “The President is asking Parliament to present the law to hold the delayed elections. It is his party that has 159 seats in Parliament, so he needs to tell it to his parliamentary group,” Madduma Bandara added.

Hitting back at Opposition claims about the Government’s hesitance to hold Provincial Council Elections, Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake claimed that the Government was prepared to hold the elections and that the Opposition would be shamefully defeated at the polls. “You can form alliances and contest, but you will still be defeated,” Rathnayake said.

Losing Kotapola

Be that as it may, the ruling party is currently facing several challenges at the grassroots level, especially in cooperative societies and Local Government councils.

The JVP/NPP won most of the cooperative societies prior to the JVP/NPP’s victory at the national elections last year. President AKD said at the time that grassroots-level victories recorded by the JVP/NPP in cooperative society elections were an indication that his party was on the path to victory at the pending Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in 2024. 

However, going by the President’s words, if the outcome of cooperative society elections played a decisive role in the overall victories recorded by political parties, the latest defeats being recorded by the JVP/NPP in cooperative society elections could indicate declining public sympathy in relation to the ruling party.

It is against such a backdrop that the ruling party recorded yet another defeat in a significant cooperative society in the country, which is the Kotapola Cooperative Society in Matara – among the largest cooperative societies in the country. The significance of winning this cooperative society was evident by the special campaign that was also launched by the JVP/NPP targeting the Kotapola Cooperative Society Elections.

However, the Opposition parties together had managed to win the society by securing 65 seats while the ruling JVP/NPP had secured 25 seats. Also, the seats in the seven-member Board of Directors of the respective cooperative society were all secured by the Opposition.

Losing LG budgets

Meanwhile, the losing trend of the JVP/NPP at cooperative societies has now spilled over to Local Government bodies, with the maiden budgets of the ruling party presented in several Local Government bodies already being defeated by Opposition parties in the past few weeks.

The JVP/NPP recorded yet another defeat of its budget last Tuesday (11) at the Kandaketiya Pradeshiya Sabha, which is controlled by it. The budget was defeated by a majority of four votes.

On Thursday (13), the ruling JVP/NPP went on to record another loss at the Dodangoda Pradeshiya Sabha, where its 2026 budget was defeated by the Opposition. Accordingly, the budget had received 12 votes in favour, which is the total number of JVP/NPP councillors, and 13 votes against, which is the total number of Opposition members in the council.

Come Friday (14), the ruling JVP/NPP faced more defeats of their maiden budgets presented to three Local Government bodies.

The Padiyathalawa Pradeshiya Sabha led by the ruling party saw its maiden budget defeated with seven votes in favour and 12 votes against. The Uva Paranagama Pradeshiya Sabha faced a similar situation with the budget being defeated by 20 votes in favour and 21 votes against. Also, the Panduwasnuwara Pradeshiya Sabha budget was defeated with 17 votes for and 21 votes against.

It is therefore evident that despite the over two-thirds majority support obtained by the ruling JVP/NPP Government for its 2026 Budget in Parliament, the situation at grassroots level is quite different.

Opposition rally under fire

Be that as it may, while the ruling JVP/NPP is facing a decline in public sentiment, the Opposition has yet to get its act together to present a reliable option that attracts the public.

The ‘Maha Jana Handa’ rally being organised by a group of Opposition political parties on Friday (21), which now seems to be under the leadership of the SLPP’s Namal Rajapaksa, has seen a split among Opposition political parties. While some Opposition parties have expressed support for the rally, the main Opposition SJB has stated it will not join the rally but has extended its best wishes for the event.

Meanwhile, Namal allocated much time last week to personally visit senior members of Opposition political parties to get them to support the rally and attend it. Given that some Opposition parties have predicted the rally on Friday to be one aimed at projecting Namal into a leadership role, the latter has stated that the rally is aimed at holding the Government to the promises made by it and to ensure that the ruling party delivers its pledges to the public.

However, President AKD took a swipe at the ‘Maha Jana Handa’ rally in his speech at the November heroes’ commemoration, where he claimed that the patriots’ camp of Keppetipola and the traitors’ camp of Don Juan Dharmapala had joined forces. 

“Two opposing camps have joined forces. The ones who were friends of Lasantha (Wickrematunge) have joined forces with those who had played a role in killing him. Those involved in the Central Bank bond scam are now joining with those who have called for action against the bond scam culprits. It’s going to be interesting to watch. They have both discussed that they need to stop calling each other rogues and unite to save themselves,” AKD said.

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva, also addressing the gathering, said that if the Opposition united and brought 5,000 people to Colombo, the ruling party was prepared to bring 50,000. He further claimed that there would be no mercy for those found to have done wrong. “It is the JVP’s policy not to forgive enemies,” Silva claimed.

Wimal’s no-show

While several Opposition parties and leaders have already announced that they will not be attending the rally in Nugegoda, another party, the National Freedom Front (NFF) led by Wimal Weerawansa made a surprise announcement saying it would not attend Friday’s rally.

The announcement came as a surprise since Weerawansa was among the initial group of individuals including former Ministers Udaya Gammanpila and Tiran Alles who were involved in planning the Opposition rally. As architects of the ‘Mahinda Sulanga’ campaign starting in 2015 that eventually resulted in the formation of the SLPP, Gammanpila and Weerawansa drew plans to re-enact the campaign through the Opposition rally in Nugegoda. 

This time around, Weerawansa’s party had presented a set of conditions that needed to be met for the party to join the rally on Friday. As of yesterday (15), there was no response from the rally organisers on whether the NFF’s conditions had been accepted or not. 

SLPP takes over rally

As things stand, the SLPP is now the clear lead of the Nugegoda rally.

The party seems to be acutely aware of the role played by United National Party (UNP) Leader, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe in splitting and weakening the SLPP since assuming the office of the President in 2022. 

After ascending to the President’s office in 2022 through the votes of the SLPPers in Parliament, Wickremesinghe engaged in his usual divide-and-rule political principle by bringing SLPP ministers and MPs to his side one by one. 

Finally, a considerable portion of SLPP MPs defected from the main party to extend support to Wickremesinghe at the last Presidential Election. Following his defeat at the 2024 Presidential Election, Wickremesinghe went on to get the UNP to contest under an alliance with the SLPP dissidents at the Parliamentary Elections.

The SLPP, however, supported the Opposition campaign that was launched after Wickremesinghe was remanded in August this year while maintaining that the party would not be forming alliances with any Opposition parties in the campaign. Once the former President was released, it was back to politics as usual for the SLPP until Wickremesinghe decided to co-lead the Nugegoda rally with the SLPP and Namal.

At this point, the SLPP and Namal reached a clear political decision that neither Namal nor the party should be seen as aligning with the UNP or its Leader Wickremesinghe and strategically worked to sideline the latter.

Namal has made several public statements already about the success of the rally and the expected crowds. He has further stated that thousands of people have already expressed interest in attending the rally without any special motivation.

RW dismisses rally

Wickremesinghe meanwhile expressed disinterest in Friday’s rally after he was sidelined from co-leadership by the SLPP. When questioned by the media recently on whether he would be attending the Opposition rally, the former President responded in a dismissive manner, saying: “What rally? There is no rally.”

The UNP seniors have since decided that the party leadership and seniors should not attend the Nugegoda rally and assigned only former Minister Harin Fernando to represent the party at the event.

It is evident that the Nugegoda rally is fast becoming a disappointment for Wickremesinghe, whose first plan was to get the SJB and its leadership to also join the rally planned by him. When the SJB leadership refused to be part of it, Wickremesinghe then tried to get SJBers who were in touch with him and other UNP seniors to attend the rally.

On the other hand, Wickremesinghe courted the SLPP and Namal to pull in the crowds for the rally. Hearing that the SLPP and Namal were playing a key role in the rally, SJBers as well as members of the SJB-led coalition lost enthusiasm for it.

Eventually, Wickremesinghe was unseated as the lead or even co-lead of the rally by Namal and the SLPP.

UNPers disgruntled

However, the drama related to the Nugegoda rally has added to the frustrations of many UNPers, including some senior members.

Several senior UNPers noted that during his presidency, Wickremesinghe had given priority to SLPPers when providing incentives, ranging from liquor licences to other perks, but that the beneficiaries seemed to have all abandoned him and returned to support the SLPP and Namal. 

“UNPers did not receive any support even when their Party Leader was the President. All those who benefited were SLPPers. Today, they are supporting the SLPP and Namal. Wickremesinghe is now left with the UNPers whom he had ignored,” a senior UNPer noted.

Harin warns SJB

Meanwhile, Harin Fernando assumed duties as the UNP’s Deputy General Secretary of Political Mobilisation at an event held at the UNP Headquarters, Sirikotha, last Monday (10).

Assuming duties, Fernando issued a warning to the SJB saying that if the seniors of the SJB did not work to form an alliance with the UNP, they (the SJB seniors) would not be able to prevent SJB members from breaking away from the party and returning to the UNP.

He explained that the UNP members who left the party to form the SJB continued to call on the two party leaders to unite and that they would unite even if the leadership did not reach a consensus. “The two parties (UNP and SJB) have joined to win the cooperative societies without the party leaders or seniors getting involved. It is a clear indication of the growing trend,” Fernando added.

However, the SJB leadership last week stated that the party would join the joint Opposition at the right time with agreements on key policies and that it would not be done for personal benefits.

Namal meets Sagala

Meanwhile, Namal, who is leading the rally on the 21st, visited former President Wickremesinghe’s office on Flower Road in Colombo 7 and met with UNP senior Sagala Ratnayaka for a discussion on the rally and to formally invite the UNP to it.

Namal arrived at the Flower Road office flanked by Party General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, Johnston Fernando, and Sanjeewa Edirimanna. It is also interesting to note that UNP Leader Wickremesinghe and many other party seniors including General Secretary Thalatha Atukorale were not present at the occasion.

It was only Ratnayaka who held the discussion with Namal. UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena, it is learnt, had left the office after welcoming the SLPPers.

Meeting Suma

Namal had then visited ITAK General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran to brief him on the rally.

Posting on X following the visit, he stated: “I visited ITAK General Secretary PC @MASumanthiran to brief him on the 21st public rally organised by the Opposition against the NPP Govt. and its failures to fulfil its pledges to the people. While ITAK is not part of the rally, as a key Opposition party it’s important for us to keep them informed about the agenda and the critical issues we are addressing.”

Namal added that both parties shared the view that the long-postponed Provincial Council Elections, continually delayed under the current Government, had to be held without further delay. “These elections are essential for strengthening local governance, and it is vital that they proceed in accordance with the Constitution,” he added on X.

SJBers disgruntled

It is in such a backdrop that the cold war within the SJB, especially between party seniors and the leadership, was witnessed in the past few weeks.

These cracks started to appear with Opposition and SJB Leader Premadasa’s recent official visit to India. ‘The Black Box,’ while reporting Premadasa’s visit to India a few weeks back, also noted that the news of the visit came as a shock to many SJB seniors since they were unaware of it.

Premadasa’s decision to name three of his confidantes to accompany him on the visit without including any party officebearers or senior MPs had further irked senior SJBers. This fact was confirmed last week when senior SJB MP Harsha de Silva stated during a political interview on a private television channel that he could not comment about Premadasa’s visit to India since he had not been informed of it. De Silva has further stated that he had learnt about the SJB leader’s Indian tour through a report in a newspaper.

UNP supports NPP

However, despite the push by the UNP leadership to create an Opposition platform to protest against the Government, an incident where members of the UNP supported the ruling JVP/NPP to pass the maiden budget of a Local Government body was publicised by SJB supporters.

The UNP Councillor in the Arachchikattuwa Pradeshiya Sabha had voted in favour of the budget presented by the ruling JVP/NPP, which controls the Local Government body. The vote count had stood at 11 for (JVP/NPP 10 votes and UNP one vote) and 11 against, with the Local Council Chairman casting the decisive vote to pass the budget.

Namal at SLFP HQ

Meanwhile, SLPPers Namal, D.V. Chanaka, and Johnston Fernando returned to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Headquarters on Darley Road in Colombo 10 last week to discuss the ongoing political developments and the rally on the 21st. They had defected from the SLFP during the ‘Yahapalana’ Government to form the SLPP and it was Namal’s first visit to the SLFP Headquarters since forming the SLPP.

SLFP Chairman Nimal Siripala de Silva, Duminda Dissanayake, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, and Chamara Sampath Dasanayake were also present at the meeting.

According to Namal, despite policy differences, Opposition parties are uniting to reveal what he described as Government deception. “We have discussed with all Opposition parties and expect everyone to join. Let’s see what happens on the 21st.”

“After several years, we returned here for discussions about the upcoming rally that will expose the Government’s lies to the public,” Namal said.

The SLFP’s Dissanayake said the discussion centred on the 21 November rally. “The Government is misleading the public. We are coming together not to ask for an election, but to expose falsehoods and injustice. Regardless of our policy differences, we are united for the people,” he said.

He added that the Government had failed to fulfil its promises and predicted a setback at future elections.

Sajith at Dilith’s

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Premadasa visited Sarvajana Balaya Leader Dilith Jayaweera’s residence on Friday (14) night. Jayaweera hosted Opposition MPs at his residence.

Opposition parties in Parliament under the leadership of Premadasa have decided to form a coalition for the welfare of MPs. The welfare system is expected to assist MPs in the event of an accident, death, or any other family emergency faced by MPs or their family members.

MP Sujith Sanjaya Perera was appointed as the President of the coalition, with Hector Appuhamy being appointed as the General Secretary. D.V. Chanaka was appointed as the Assistant Secretary and Jayaweera as the coalition’s Convenor.

It had been decided to hold a monthly meeting of the coalition, which will also serve as a get-together, and the first get-together of this coalition was held at Jayaweera’s residence on Friday. 

Jayaweera had laughed at the get-together saying that he used to openly criticise even Opposition political parties and that now he would not be able to do so. Everyone had laughed at Jayaweera’s statement.

CIABOC’s legal conundrum

Meanwhile, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), it is learnt, is facing some confusion over the financial administrative legislation of the commission. The question is whether the CIABOC’s finances are being governed according to the Anti-Corruption Act of 2023 or by the Public Financial Management Act of 2024.

The Anti-Corruption Act was enacted with the aim of setting up an independent CIABOC where funds for the commission could be determined through discussion with the finance minister. Accordingly, the funds, once passed by Parliament for the commission, will be deposited into a separate account under the CIABOC.

However, CIABOC Director General Ranga Dissanayake has pointed out that despite the Anti-Corruption Act, the Public Financial Management Act supersedes finance legislation related to the CIABOC and the Anti-Corruption Act. Hence, funds are yet to be assigned to the CIABOC account as outlined in the Anti-Corruption Act.

The CIBAOC has sought the Attorney General’s observation about this legal conundrum and in the event the Attorney General fails to provide a solution to resolve the current situation, Dissanayake has noted that the matter would have to be referred to the Supreme Court.

Another list comes out

Meanwhile, Minister Samantha Viddyarathna named several individuals and companies that have allegedly received funds allocated for entrepreneurs under a World Bank loan programme during what he called were previous “green” and “blue” governments.

Viddyarathna told Parliament during the Budget debate that the project had been intended to support agriculture sector development, with a portion earmarked for entrepreneurs and industry-related initiatives. “This list is long, so I’ll name a few,” he said.

Among those named was a company reportedly linked to Anoma Gamage, wife of former Minister Daya Gamage, which had received Rs. 14.95 million.

Viddyarathna also alleged that the son of former Ministry Secretary Bandula Wickramaarachchi, who had served under Minister Gamage, had received Rs. 8.2 million.

Asahi Construction Ltd., said to be owned by the wife of former Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, had allegedly received Rs. 18 million. Former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda had also been listed as having received Rs. 18 million.

A company linked to the son of former Minister Lakshman Seneviratne had allegedly received Rs. 37.5 million, while another company reportedly connected to the brother of former Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had received Rs. 48.1 million, according to the Minister.

Viddyarathna further noted that in June, a Cabinet paper had been submitted seeking Treasury funds to repay the amount owed to the World Bank.

SC seeks addresses

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) has directed that the permanent addresses of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR), former Secretary of Defence Kamal Gunaratne, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne, former Navy Commander Nishantha Ulugetenne, and former Public Security Minister Tiran Alles be presented to court.

The directive had been issued when a case filed against alleged irregularities that had taken place when releasing compensation payments for the houses burnt during the 9 May 2022 mayhem was taken up for hearing.

Lunch in Prabha’s village

Meanwhile, a group of politicians representing political parties in the south had recently engaged in a tour of the north. This group had included MPs from Opposition political parties in Parliament as well.

Former ITAK MP M.A. Sumanthiran had played the role of guide when the MPs from the south were taken around the north, showing them sites of historical significance.

During one of these tours, a scrumptious northern lunch had been prepared at a residence of an ITAK member in Valvettithurai – the village of the late Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Velupillai Prabhakaran. The group of MPs had enjoyed the northern meal while also listening to details about Prabhakaran’s village.