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By Sandun Jayawardana

The passage of the Second Reading of Budget 2026 on Friday was notable for several opposition MPs breaking ranks to vote with the National People’s Power (NPP) government in support of the budget.  

The Second Reading was passed with a crushing margin of 118 votes, with 160 votes in favour and just 42 against. While the passage of the Second Reading was always going to be a formality for a government that held a two-thirds parliamentary majority, the final vote was noteworthy for the decision by several MPs from the estate sector who had contested from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) ticket to break ranks with their party colleagues in support of the budget. The three MPs representing the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), namely Mano Ganesan, Palani Digambaram and V. Radakrishnan, voted in support of the Second Reading while others in the SJB voted against it. Explaining their decision, Mr. Ganesan said their decision to support the budget was motivated by the government’s move to increase the daily wage of estate workers. United National Party (UNP) MP Jeevan Thondaman, also representing the estate sector, was the fourth opposition MP to vote in support of the Second Reading.

The eight MPs from the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) chose to abstain during the vote.

With the Second Reading debate over, the Committee Stage Debate of Budget 2026 commenced yesterday with the expenditure heads of the President, the Prime Minister’s Office, Judges of the Superior Courts, Office of the Cabinet of Ministers and Independent Commissions among those taken up.

Opening yesterday’s debate for the opposition, SJB Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekara noted that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s expenditure head for 2026 had been allocated Rs. 12 billion – a significant increase compared to the expenditure heads of other presidents. Mr. Jayasekara contrasted the allocation with claims he said Mr. Dissanayake had made before becoming president, where he had strongly criticised the large scale budgetary allocations made for presidents.

Mr. Jayasekara further accused the government of bringing politicised projects under the expenditure head of the president so these can be given substantial allocations. He singled out the government’s ‘Praja Shakthi’ national programme, which he alleged was a highly politicised project led by NPP members at village level. He recounted the claims made by Mr. Dissanayake and others in the opposition regarding presidential allocations in budgets. “If we go by your definition given while in opposition on how such allocations are utilised, we can say that the president spends Rs. 21, 000, or four Rs. 5000 notes, every minute, though we won’t make such a criticism” the SJB MP commented. He added the outlandish claims made by the NPP when in opposition have now boomeranged on them.

The opposition has no logical argument to offer regarding Budget 2026, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated. She added the opposition was offering a “laundry list” of incoherent arguments and challenged them to make an argument that would stand for at least 24 hours. She noted that the difference between the NPP and the opposition, was that while the NPP was united in its mission and had no uncertainties regarding why it engaged in politics, opposition parties, while appearing on paper to be more close-knit than the NPP, were politically fragmented. “They have no clear opinion regarding their political vision, which is why they are unable to offer a coherent, logical argument that can last for at least 24 hours. In contrast, whatever differences we may have, we have a clear idea of why we are here and what our political objective is, which helps to unite us.”

She said the final goal of the government is to develop the country. “We have immense confidence that we can help the people of this country to reach a better position than where they are in now. We also have steadfast determination to do this,” she added.

While the NPP accuses the opposition of being illogical, there was clearly no logic behind what it promised to the people through its election manifesto and how it has gone back on those promises now, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said, hitting back at the PM’s characterisation of the opposition. He pointed to pledges in the NPP’s manifesto, including the promise to change the debt sustainability agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Is there any logic in promising to change the debt sustainability agreement to win votes and then not doing so when you come to power?” Mr. Premadasa queried. He also pointed to other promises which are yet to be fulfilled, including providing jobs for 35, 000 unemployed graduates and recruiting 20, 000 new teachers.

The country has achieved economic and political stability under President Dissanayake, Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala said. “Under President Dissanayake’s leadership, we have also changed the country’s political culture and led by example,” the minister added. The minister said certain former president’s had abused the allocations made for their expenditure heads. Rulings given by the country’s Supreme Court regarding the circumstances that brought the country to bankruptcy lay bare as to how this was done. “For example, under President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Rs. 7.5 billion had been set aside under his expenditure head for research and development, yet there was neither research nor development, he charged.

The Committee Stage debate of Budget 2026 will be held for 17 days from November 15 to December 5. The vote on the Third Reading of the budget is scheduled to be held at 5.00pm on December 5.