General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Mr. Tilvin Silva, clarified that the National People’s Force (NPF) government has not printed new money or taken loans since taking office. Addressing a rally as part of the NPF’s General Election campaign, Silva challenged anyone to provide evidence of newly issued currency notes bearing the signature of Finance Minister Anura Dissanayake and Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, as would be required if new currency had indeed been printed.
Silva further asserted that claims suggesting the government is minting money or taking excessive loans are baseless. “If we were to issue new notes, they would bear the signatures of the Finance Minister and the Central Bank Governor. Has anyone seen such a note? No. This is simply not true. Our government hasn’t borrowed even five cents,” he said.
He explained that the Central Bank regularly issues bonds and treasury bills for its operational needs, a process that continues independently of government changes. Silva emphasized that these standard financial practices are often misconstrued as new government borrowing, despite being ongoing fiscal measures.
The key words: “bear the signatures”.
What if they have printed with the existing signatures?
It’s a plausible argument.