“No difference between previous budget and this budget” - Harsha
February 17, 2025 05:02 pm
SJB Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva has questioned the ideological shift of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the National People”s Power (NPP), claiming that the parties are now proposing the same neoliberal economic reforms they previously opposed.
“They talked about a neoliberal program today. If they now say these reforms are good, what happened to the last 40 years of opposition? If they opposed these reforms for decades and now suddenly accept them, that means our 40 years were in vain. That is a crime,” he stated.
Dr. de Silva also pointed out that the recent budget does not reflect any significant ideological change from past economic policies.
“The last budget and this budget have no difference. If the country has been destroyed for 75 years, then change is necessary. If their ideology is different, it should be reflected, but that has not happened. I am not saying this is wrong; what I am saying is that this should have been understood decades ago,” he remarked.
Highlighting specific policy reversals, he questioned the JVP/NPP”s stance on state-owned enterprises and economic policies.
“If they now support establishing a holding company for state-owned enterprises, why did they oppose it earlier? If they now agree to fuel pricing formulas and electricity tariff hikes, why did they resist them before?”
MP Harsha de Silva further noted that the government”s stance on reducing the number of public sector employees aligns with past economic recommendations, which they staunchly opposed.
“Now the President Anura Kumara says government employees should be reduced. If this was their fight all along, why didn”t they acknowledge it before? Had they accepted these policies earlier, the country could have developed successfully.”
He concluded by viewing the policy shift as a validation of the social market economy system previously advocated by his party.
“Now we are happy that they have agreed to the social market economy system we presented. That is a victory,” he said.
