Former President and present leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) says that although the SLPP is a part of the government, ‘the present Head of the Government and Head of State is the leader of a different political party with different policies.’
He has said this in a special statement issued today (Dec. 20).
“The SLPP which I lead is a part of the government. However the present Head of the Government and Head of State is the leader of a different political party with different policies. In a situation where this country was faced with complete anarchy, Parliament elected a President to serve the remainder of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term. The new President successfully restored law and order to the country. He is now directing government policy as the Executive President. At this moment, the primary duty of the SLPP is to ensure a stable government until the next national elections,” he says.
“Due to bad economic management, the period from 2015 to 2019 saw an increase taxes while at the same time experiencing a precipitous increase in foreign debt. It was this USD 10,000 million in new ISBs taken between 2015 and 2019 that broke the back of our economy,” he also said.
Noting that the country is ‘still living through the consequences of January 2015 and this country cannot afford another mistake like that again,’ he states that ‘every member of the public should pay special attention to the tax policy and the past economic practices of the political party they vote for in the future.
The full statement is as follows :
