NPP signalled left but is steering sharply right, says Opposition Leader

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said that the National People’s Power (NPP) government has imposed severe economic hardship on the public by following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) policy agenda, despite winning office on a left-wing platform.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader made the remarks in parliament yesterday (04), a week before the government is due to present its budget on 12 November.

Claims of a shift to the right

Premadasa said the party that once revered Marx, Lenin and Stalin now looks up to capitalist thinkers such as Adam Smith. He said the NPP had signalled a move to the left during the election campaign but was now heading towards the extreme right. He described the government as a founding force of neoliberalism that was openly deceiving voters.

He said that voters had chosen a government to protect their rights, deliver justice and fairness and safeguard their lives. In his view, the current policy instead crushes livelihoods while allowing crony capitalists to thrive. He added that the government had done little more than follow the IMF’s lead without regard for ordinary people.

Fiscal targets and tax burden

The opposition leader said the IMF had asked for a primary surplus of 2.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), yet the government had pushed the figure to 5.4% at the public’s expense. He added that revenue of 13.9% of GDP had been deemed adequate, but the government raised the tax burden to 15.4%, taking money directly from household pockets.

Unmet election pledges

Premadasa recalled that, while in opposition, NPP figures had promised a Vitz car for Rs 1.2 million and a Japanese motorcycle for Rs 50,000. He said none of these pledges had been realised. He noted that the government had also promised to sell fuel at the price paid at the port, but prices had continued to climb. He said it had further pledged to cut electricity bills by 33%, yet was now preparing another tariff increase.

He said 80,000 graduates remained jobless after being given false promises to win their votes, and that commitments to teacher development officers and farmers had also gone unfulfilled.

Aswesuma

Premadasa said the government had still not completed the household income and expenditure survey, and was therefore drafting its budget without knowing the true poverty line. He said the NPP had claimed to be made up of walking encyclopaedias but did not grasp the real situation in the country.

He estimated that between 30% and 40% of the population now lives in poverty, and said the IMF itself had found Sri Lanka to have the highest youth unemployment, among those aged 18 to 24. He said industries were closing, jobs were vanishing and the government had no plan to halt the decline.

He also criticised the Aswesuma welfare programme, saying genuine poverty alleviation must cover consumption, production, savings, investment and exports, whereas Aswesuma addressed consumption alone. He said the scheme rested on inaccurate and unscientific data and had failed completely.

Counter-terrorism legislation

Premadasa further alleged that the government was trying to stifle public protest through a proposed law on protecting the state against terrorism. He said it was violating the economic and social rights of 22 million people. He claimed the bill would allow the government to pursue political opponents and would empower the president to decide who counts as a terrorist, which he described as both a restriction on democracy and a betrayal of the people’s mandate.

Call for elections

He urged the government to lower the tax burden and deliver the relief it had promised. He then challenged ministers, if they had the courage, to take note of political shifts in the United States, hold Provincial Council elections immediately and accept the verdict of the electorate.