2026-02-17 / Debate: Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Bill - Second Reading and Committee Stage 2026-02-17
## Summary
Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, speaking as Chair of the Jaffna District Development Committee, argued that the current government has made significant progress in national reconciliation and economic recovery, citing the country's rebound from the 2022 bankruptcy declaration and resilience following Cyclone Dicha. He contended that longstanding ethnic divisions among Tamil, Sinhala, and Muslim communities have been overcome, and that marginalized groups—including Hill Country Tamils, war-affected persons, and widows—are now being addressed by the government for the first time. The Minister warned against what he described as attempts by certain politicians to reignite ethnic and religious divisions, specifically referencing some Tamil politicians, and asserted that neither the government nor the public would permit a return to divisive politics.
As we implement development projects, our country, once mired in bribery and corruption, is now recovering. Sri Lanka is smiling again. We have transformed the nation to such an extent that we are opening a new chapter that even the world takes note of. Economically, from the officially declared bankruptcy of 2022, we have lifted the country to stand again. Despite the severe impact of the recent “Dicha” cyclone, the nation is advancing with renewed vigor.
As a Member representing the North, as a Minister, and as Chair of the Jaffna District Development Committee, I am leading many activities in Jaffna today. There is a reason for this. For decades, divisions and bitterness were fostered among Tamil, Sinhala, and Muslim communities. Today, those resentments have been removed, and across all regions—North, East, South, West, and the Hill Country—people can now say this is their own government, their President, their Ministers, and their Members of Parliament.
The discriminatory, divisive, hierarchical attitudes once shown towards Tamils have changed. We have brought the country to a level where all are viewed equally as human beings.
For 200 years, our Hill Country community toiled for this country and was discarded like mango peels. No one came forward to raise their issues. Today, that has changed; a new chapter is opening for the Hill Country. Our government is positioned to address the issues of the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, the disabled, those affected by war, and widows—across every region, including the North.
While we advance these initiatives, some senior politicians, in the old style of stoking ethnic and religious division, are trying to drag the country back into the abyss. A few Tamil politicians stirring the pot among Tamils—and others here—are again trying to push the Tamil people into an ethnically divisive chasm. We will not allow this in the future, nor will the people. I conclude. Thank you.