Move to import vehicles for MPs amidst dire financial crisis dropped

2021/05/26

SJB denies knowledge

The Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) yesterday (25) said that a government move to import vehicles for members of Parliament hadn’t been discussed with the party.

SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said so when The Island sought their stand on a government attempt to allocate Rs 3.7 bn for purchasing through a state bank about 225 expensive vehicles described as SUVs. The Colombo District MP said that he had first got to know about the government move through social media.

The Prime Minister’s Office on Monday (24) said it had decided to withdraw a recently presented Cabinet paper for vehicle imports after having taking into consideration the current situation in the country.

The SJB parliamentary group comprises 54 MPs including 7 National List members.

The original Cabinet paper was submitted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Finance Minister. The decision to halt the import of vehicles was taken on Monday at a zoom meeting chaired by PM Rajapaksa.

Civil society activist and attorney-at-law Nagananda Kodituwakku told The Island that the move to allocate funds for acquisition of vehicles should be examined against the backdrop of the dire financial crisis caused by the raging Covid-19 virus.

During the first Covid-19 eruption wave in spite of government directive, special permit holders imported 300 luxury vehicles.

The JVP MPs were not immediately available for comment. (SF)