The government that once had proclaimed itself to be the ‘patent holders’ of the motherland, its sovereignty and patriotism has now been knelt down before a ship carrying ‘manure-like’ fertiliser rejected by multiple tests, said Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, on his visit to Lunugamwehera to meet with the farmers living in the area and to endorse the protest action organised by the farmers today (24), as part of the ‘Govi Hadagesma’ initiative undertaken by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) to address the hassles faced by the farming community of Sri Lanka.
Those who had boasted of patriotism are now in hiding, while the lives of the people are being played with and the whole country is being betrayed on the government’s lust for commission, Premadasa emphasised.
Pointing out that the government is making a desperate attempt to deliver back the consignment of fertiliser that failed many tests and distribute them to the farmers, the Opposition Leader mocked the Minister in Charge of Agriculture saying that he is ‘tutoring’ the institutions that are impartially researching the quality of fertilisers imported to the country.
Premadasa also condemned the government’s conduct of arbitrarily importing substandard fertiliser without consulting the opinion of scientists and experts of the field, revealing that the Agriculture Minister is mocking the findings of the investigation carried out by the research institutes of the country.
The impact of the relevant microorganisms to the environment could be severe, the Opposition Leader warned, questioning as to who are the powers that do not give in to the practicalities of the use of fertiliser.
The government should be revealing before the country what is the agreement signed with the China-based company in question, what are the relevant agreements signed regarding the action to be taken were the fertiliser not up to standard, who brought back the substandard fertiliser consignment [that was rejected upon the first test] even before the results of the second test, who persuaded for such an action to be proceeded with and who succumbed to those pressures, Premadasa noted.
The Opposition Leader also pointed out that the act of anchoring a ship that is causing severe damage to the country itself is a crime, adding that the government even lacks the spine borne by the Director of Agriculture to oppose such an action.
MIAP
