Economic crisis transitioning into a political crisis - Prof. Charitha Herath 

Member of the Freedom People’s Congress (FPC) and parliamentarian Prof. Charitha Herath cautions that the ongoing economic crisis in the country is evolving into a political crisis, attributing it to the conduct of the Government.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo on Tuesday, Herath expressed that the Government’s actions, coupled with the stringent conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to purportedly address the country’s economic crisis, is now giving rise to a political crisis.

However, Herath assured that the opposition would intervene to prevent this from taking place.

The MP also criticised the Government for its conduct during the vote on the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill on Monday, accusing it of bullying the opposition by stifling their ability to express their views and leveraging its majority power to secure its passage.

“We must remember that this is a Government without a clear mandate, and this issue will affect every aspect of the people’s lives,” he said. The MP also expressed concerns about the newly proposed Electricity Bill which will affect power generation, transmission as well as distribution and said a broad discussion on the matter must take place within the society.