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By Sandun Jayawardana 

The first day’s debate on the second reading of Budget 2026 saw sparks fly between the government and opposition benches yesterday, hinting at more stormy exchanges among MPs in the coming days and weeks.

Opening the second reading debate for the opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr Harsha De Silva pushed back against President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s denial during his budget speech the previous day that his government was headed towards a “constitutional dictatorship.” He accused the National People’s Power (NPP) government of engaging in a clandestine effort to give state power to its main party the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). He further said the government was engaged in an anti-democratic effort to change the country’s multi-party system. “You are trying to do within the democratic framework, what you could not achieve through force of arms,” he said, referencing the JVP’s failed insurrections.

Sparks flew between the government and opposition benches on the first day of the budget debate

Referring to the budget proposals, Dr De Silva said the opposition acknowledges that the government has managed to stabilise the economy. “However, we are arguing that you have not presented a programme to move towards the next step, which is achieving economic growth,” he told the government.

He also appreciated President Dissanayake’s anti-corruption drive because the people have become fed up with all the acts of thievery and have high hopes that the criminals will be brought to account. Along with acts passed in 2024 and the strengthened Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), people expect that politicians and officials who defrauded public funds will be brought to account, Dr De Silva remarked. “The president has our fullest support in this endeavour, however, this process must not be a political witch-hunt,” he insisted. The SJB MP brought up incidents such as the sugar scam, the e-visa procurement and the release of the 323 ‘red-labeled’ containers from the Colombo Port without a physical inspection, pointing out that nothing has been done to bring wrongdoers in such alleged large-scale acts of corruption to account.  

Dr De Silva also raised concerns regarding the Finance Ministry’s controversial recent move to float a multibillion rupee tender to purchase 1,775 double cabs. He said the president, in his budget speech the previous day, had attempted to brush the issue aside by claiming that the double cabs were also being given to MPs as well. While procurement guidelines stipulate that 42 days must be given to submit bids, only a 12-day window had been given to submit bids for the double cab tender. Multiple bidders must have the right to submit bids for the tender, but due to very narrow conditions imposed over the tender, this means that only one or two bidders are eligible to submit bids in this instance, he said. “I believe this tender should be suspended and it should be investigated,” he said, adding the opposition was not prepared to accept “bribes” in the form of double cabs to allow it to proceed.

The government managed to stabilise the economy within the short span of a year through several different measures, Chief Government Whip and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. “The first was fiscal discipline while the other was fiscal management. These were the main two factors that helped to stabilise the country’s economy.”

Noting that the government did not have a “miracle worker,” Dr Jayatissa said a team effort led by the president, the cabinet and the rest of the government as well as state officials ensured fiscal discipline and fiscal management helped to stabilize the economy. Even while stabilising the economy however, the government has been striving to give relief to the people, the minister observed. “Though you do not appreciate it, we have been giving every form of relief we can to the people over the past year,” Dr Jayatissa said. He cited examples such as the salary increase given to public servants and increasing pensions. More people were covered under the Aswesuma scheme and the benefits given under the scheme were also expanded. Budget 2026 also provides Rs 10,000 each to some 140,000 disabled persons. The Mahapola allowance, which was only Rs 5,000 when the NPP came to power, has been increased to Rs 10,000 in the 2026 Budget, while the bursary has been increased to Rs 9,000, he pointed out.

“We have been able to bring financial stability to this nation, which is the most critical foundation for growth,” Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe said. He pointed out that even the opposition is not denying that under the NPP government, Sri Lanka has achieved all its macro and micro economic targets. “My good friends in the opposition were never able to achieve this, so that is the pain they are going through because they were never able to achieve the fiscal targets of any given budget, even from 2015.”

He said through the budget that has been presented, the government expected to now move from stability to growth, and that the government expects to achieve 7% GDP growth or more, while also achieving debt sustainability by 2030. He said following a well thought out plan, the country was moving “from stability to predictability.”

The NPP government was moving down a different path, Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya said. “We are not acting according to a short-term plan based on personal preferences, or according to the egos of different ministers, or to advance someone’s personal agenda. We have a plan which was built based on a team effort. It is a plan drafted for the betterment of the country. All 159 of us know that we each have our role to play, and each of us has to fulfill our role if the entire plan is to become a success.”

The premier quipped that she sometimes felt that those in the opposition know the NPP’s manifesto better than the NPP. “They know page numbers and contents by heart, but I would like to remind them again that our manifesto is a 5-year plan. Actually, it is a plan that goes even beyond 5 years because we have a long-term vision for the country. We have not mentioned anywhere that we intend to complete everything in the manifesto within a year. There is a pace we will take when implementing the plan,” she added.

When campaigning for elections, those now in the government made various claims. These included assertions that they will bring back funds stolen from the country and hidden in Uganda within a month of coming to power, bring back millions of dollars hidden by exporters and use them to pay off the country’s debts, and chase away the International Monetary Fund (IMF), SJB Kegalle District MP Kabir Hashim said.

He said there were clear differences between what the government said on the campaign stage and what it is saying now. “The president himself said his government will resolve these issues within six months. But it’s been a year now,” he pointed out.