Dilrook Kannangara

Presenting the budget in parliament, President Wickramasinghe repeatedly mentioned that his budget is not an election budget. However, the substance of his budget is a complete election budget. It is aimed at reviving the UNP as a viable political party once again at the expense of rural masses and national interests.

The budget proposes a small salary increase of 10,000 rupees for selected public sector employees. However, what is given is robbed via increases in consumption taxes (VAT). This worsens inflation, budget deficit and debt trap. The other plan is to show how expensive the public sector is to the IMF and easily justify privatization plans. This salary hike increases public sector salary bill by over 100 billion rupees. This budget gives enough rope to public sector workers to hang themselves via the IMF agreement.

Rural masses have been totally disregarded by the budget. They have nothing to gain from this budget. In fact, this is the only budget in 20 years that has totally disregarded and downplayed rural masses of the country.

Lower middle class and middle class will also be worse off from this budget.

How can Ranil get away with this? Simple; he knows that most SLPP MPs must support his budget no matter how disastrous it is because otherwise the parliament will be dissolved and a fresh election must be held where most of them will be defeated. Self before country.

MPs supporting this budget are anti-people and anti-national. This budget must be defeated to save people and the nation. This will allow the parliamentary majority to replace Ranil with a more pro-people finance minister at a time when the nation cries for a people-centered approach to resolve problems. Voting for this budget is a sure guarantee of election disaster for those who vote for it in addition to causing another national disaster.