Former Minister Manusha Nanayakkara stated that the National People’s Power (NPP) government won the presidential election by lying to the people and now has to borrow more and more because they are unable to maintain the power they gained through deception. He made this statement while addressing a campaign rally of the New Democratic Front held in Balapitiya.
Further commenting, he said:
“What did people expect before this government came to power? That money would come from Uganda, prices of goods would decrease, diesel would be Rs. 100, petrol Rs. 150, wages would increase, loans would be cut, and eggs would be available for Rs. 18. Not only that, but people thought they could buy an iPhone in a month and purchase a car with one month’s salary. Because that is what they were told.
People believed that the so-called ‘thieves’ would be caught immediately upon their arrival. Hatred was fueled by repeatedly calling others thieves. But I ask, is it practical to run a country by constantly borrowing money? Even a simple moneylender can calculate loans outside the box.
Under President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration, we managed to cut $18 billion in debt and freed the country from bankruptcy. Our ministry alone brought in $13 billion through hard-working citizens abroad. In addition, we saved six and a half billion dollars in reserves, filled the treasury, secured oil, and gas, and managed to run the country without major issues. Twenty-three lakh people voted for us out of gratitude.
Forty-two percent (42%) voted for those who lied They made government employees and teachers take to the streets, formed public opinions, opposed the government, and created various hostilities in villages, giving the youth great hopes. This led to the election of a minority president. Mr. Anura Kumara did not receive 12 million votes. What is happening now? They are borrowing. These days, the borrowing rate is Rs. 3,000 crores per hour. The government has taken Rs. 60,000 crores in loans.
These loans are being taken by selling bonds. Those who said they wouldn’t take loans are now borrowing as soon as they came into power. They are doing it with arrogance. After signing a loan agreement with a World Bank official, they shake hands proudly. Chaturanga Abeysinghe, a member of the NPP, says that if we don’t take loans from other countries, we will be marginalized. Here is where the lies are being told.
When asked when taxes will be reduced, they say ‘after the election.’ When will VAT be reduced? ‘After the election.’ When will salaries increase? ‘After the election.’ People on social media are saying to be patient. But that’s not how they came to power. They said they would not tax food, and now they have taxed maladive fish at Rs. 320 per kilo. They have also taxed red dhal and yellow dhal. Everything is taxed. There’s no nadu rice today. Eggs are now Rs. 60. Where is the commission going to . There should be a limit to lying. The wisdom that accompanies lies is destroyed with those lies. People should have been told the truth about the state of the country.
people won’t vote if you tell the truth. Because no one else needs to do what Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe is already doing. These people are doing the same thing by borrowing even more. They said they would cancel the IMF agreement and revise it as they came power. But as soon as they took power, they went along with it. Now they say they aren’t bringing money from Uganda. They admit to lying about sending money to Uganda. And now, they admit that the other promises were also lies. We said this all along. They lied about the Uma Oya project. They claimed the Sigiriya rock would be destroyed to build the Port City. They lied about the expressway. But we explained these lies. Still, these people fueled hatred in the hearts of the public and deceived the country with lies. People believed those lies.
Remember, the country’s income increased during President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s last eight months in office. Compared to 2023, income for the first eight months of 2024 increased by 40%. When this news broke, these people claimed they accomplished it in just a month. They didn’t. It was through long-term borrowing. We built this country. We cannot let it go bankrupt again. No more oil or gas queues. We are preparing to fulfill our responsibility to the country in Parliament.
When the talks about overseas jobs, we are accused. We publicly challenge anyone to prove that we took money illegally from anyone. Only government fees were charged to those sent abroad, and loans were provided for that too. Some say the most people were sent from Galle. Yes, as the Galle MP, I want to look after the people of Galle because they voted for me. When 10,000 went sent, 20,00 were from Galle.
Now some people have gone to the President’s Secretariat and claimed they didn’t get a chance to go overseas , that they did medical too . People are sent to Israel according to that country’s demand, to various fields like agriculture and construction. When the season starts there, even more people can go. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake cannot send anyone abroad early. We built a system. The work is done according to that system. We are happy that we’ve created a system where our youth can earn salaries of ten lakhs or twelve. They are thriving and building houses. I’m very happy about that.
Meanwhile, fraudsters are spreading. There are people who say they can send people abroad early and put their names on the list. We always say: don’t get caught by anyone. But people in villages are getting caught in pyramid schemes, and these fraudsters are also getting caught. To prevent this, people call each other by name. If someone uses our name, report it to the police.”