Opposition MP Mujibur Rahman has accused the government of betraying its reform promises after introducing sweeping new security and anti-crime legislation to Parliament.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) lawmaker addressed the media in Colombo to raise concerns over the proposed laws on organised crime and the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill.
Legal safeguards for personal liberties face growing uncertainty under the proposed legislative changes.
Rahman highlighted that the government had pledged during its election campaign to eliminate all statutory provisions that inflict hardship on the general public.
However, he stressed that the introduction of these bills represents a total reversal of those commitments, raising strong suspicions that the state seeks wide discretionary powers to detain citizens arbitrarily.
He expressed particular concern over provisions that could allow authorities to brand an individual as a criminal merely on the basis of their personal attire, dress style, haircut, or tattoos.
Rahman warned that the enactment of such expansive security laws signals an alarming shift towards state overreach and the erosion of fundamental civil freedoms.
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