Dilith Jayaweera claims President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s parliamentary speeches lack hope for nation-building, driving young Sri Lankans to seek opportunities abroad.
Dilith Jayaweera has claimed that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s parliamentary speeches contain no meaningful vision for nation-building, arguing that young people who listen to them are once again lining up at passport offices to leave Sri Lanka in search of opportunities abroad.
Leader of the Sarvajana Balaya party and Member of Parliament Dilith Jayaweera made the remarks while addressing the Sarvajana Balaya Uva Paranagama divisional representative meeting, where he sharply criticised the President’s recent address in Parliament.
“There is a tradition in our Parliament that whatever the President says when he comes to Parliament, he should not be interrupted. As people who respect tradition, we remain silent. But he abused that tradition and spent his time making numerous slanderous remarks,” Jayaweera said.
He questioned whether the President had addressed the concerns of farmers in Uva Paranagama or spoken about the hardships affecting ordinary citizens.
“Did he address the problems faced by farmers in Uva Paranagama? Did he explain what has happened to electricity bills when no one’s income has increased for the past three years? What happened to fuel prices? What happened to water bills? What happened to the prices of consumer goods? Did he speak about any of these issues? No,” he said.
Jayaweera also argued that the President failed to address the rising cost of living caused by the appreciation of the US dollar and remained silent on concerns surrounding the country’s judicial system.
“Did he speak about the hardships our consumers are facing today because of the rise of the dollar? He did not. Even though he knows that Sri Lanka’s judicial system is facing serious challenges and that public confidence in the judiciary is declining, he came to Parliament without speaking about any of those matters. Instead, he engaged in numerous slanderous remarks, staged political dramas, and then presented a summary of those dramas, showing great disrespect to the majority of intelligent people in this country,” he said.
According to Jayaweera, a President addressing Parliament should focus on inspiring the nation and presenting a clear economic vision rather than engaging in political attacks.
“When the President addresses Parliament, the first responsibility is to motivate the people, inspire them, encourage them to participate in production, promote exports, strengthen small and micro-entrepreneurs, and give people hope for the future,” he said.
He claimed that the President’s speech failed to offer any encouragement to young Sri Lankans who are considering remaining in the country.
“Instead, what did he say? Listen to that speech again. Is there even a single word that gives hope to the younger generation that they should remain in this country instead of going abroad, believing that things will eventually improve? If any young person listened to that parliamentary speech, they would once again be standing in line at the passport office, waiting to catch the first available flight to the nearest island somewhere. Because, we have no future,” Jayaweera said.
