Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says the government is causing a loss of Rs. 17 per kilogram of rice, and in doing so is destroying not only the farming community but the democratic system itself.
Speaking at a public meeting held in Habarattawala, Suriyawewa, to discuss the problems faced by farmers, Premadasa said the government is undermining the judiciary, one of the three pillars of democracy alongside the legislature and the executive.
He pointed out that despite numerous vacancies for judges of the Supreme Court, the government has failed to fill them, while at the same time attempting to change the retirement age of judges. None of this, he said, features anywhere in the government's "Rich Country, Beautiful Life" policy framework.
He said that the government had promised to reduce electricity bills by 33 per cent and supply fuel at the price at which it is unloaded at the port, yet neither promise has been kept.
Those who once promised a Vitz car worth Rs. 1.2 million now deny ever making the pledge, he said.
Not a single promise has been fulfilled, he added, while the government continues to pressure the judiciary, leaving the public without any relief.
Government wants to curtail power of judiciary
Premadasa said the government's aim is to strengthen the executive pillar of democracy while curtailing the power of the judiciary, subordinating it to the executive and turning it into a tool of executive control.
He said even the Judges of the Judicial Service Commission opposed the move, rejecting it by a vote of 65 to nil.
The Bar Association, he observed, has also unanimously rejected the government's attempt to place the judiciary under executive control.
He said the government's aim is both to weaken the judiciary and to tarnish the dignity and character of judges, thereby destroying the respect they hold in society.
Fatal blow to judicial independence
Premadasa described the government's attempt to suppress the judiciary as a fatal blow aimed at judicial independence. He said the opposition will work to defeat this attempt, strengthen democracy and establish the rule of law.
Ministers now intimidating media
Premadasa said ministers are now silencing camera crews and insulting media channels.
He said that no matter how much various channels insult him personally, he will never impose censorship on any media outlet. Free media, he said, must be respected, along with civil society, as both safeguard democracy. He added that Sri Lanka must not forget it is a democratic nation, not a dictatorship.
This government came to power through lies
Premadasa said the government came to power in the presidential, general and local government elections on an unprecedented mountain of lies and false promises.
He said the JVP-NPP government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has betrayed and abandoned the farming community along with the wider public.
He said the government, after promising to end the "76 year curse" and bring systemic change, called the farmer "king" and even "God," making numerous promises before deliberately abandoning farmers and pushing them into poverty.
Highest VAT still charged on agricultural equipment
Premadasa said farmers mortgage their land and borrow from usurious moneylenders to farm, yet the quality of paddy seed has declined and fertiliser subsidies are not delivered on time.
He noted that the prices of agrochemicals, weedicides, fuel and fertiliser have changed while quality has worsened, and the cost of agricultural equipment has risen.
He said the government, which claims to love the farmer, still imposes VAT on agricultural equipment to this day.
No stable price for farmer's harvest
Premadasa said farmers toil to cultivate and harvest their crops, yet there is no stable price for their harvest.
He said the government now calls the suffering farmer a "moonshine brewer," telling farmers to grow something other than paddy if they cannot manage it.
He noted that during the election campaign, the government promised food security and self sufficiency, but none of that has materialised.
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