Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando yesterday called on people not to fall prey to the Opposition’s tactics of fear-mongering since succumbing to fear would not yield anything positive.
Speaking to the media after an inspection visit to check the progress of the ‘10,000 beds in 10 days’ project in Kurunegala, the minister said the government has decided to move forward in all its programmes as scheduled without allowing the pandemic to scuttle them.
“We do not retreat or surrender in the face of this virus threat. We have faced bigger challenges and we are ready to face this and defeat it. While the Opposition was calling for Parliament to be postponed, we decided against it. On coming Tuesday, Parliament will meet to discuss and debate health regulations enabling further imports of medicine.We cannot and would not hide in fear of this pandemic. The Opposition Leader and his men are creating a fear psychosis to paralyse this country from fear, anxiety and uncertainty,” the Minister said.
He said that there was a pandemic not only in this country but also all the other countries in the world. “But our Opposition wants to shut this country down and make it worse. We must keep in mind that nowhere in the world or in past experiences of pandemics, the solution was found by hiding away but only by facing the challenge.
The Opposition Leader and his men seem to think that they could create public displeasure on the government by paralysing this system. That is why they keep on calling to shut this down.
They do not want to see Parliament meet. We decided at the Party Leaders’ Meeting to meet on Tuesday to discuss medicine imports and tyre exports and on Wednesday and Thursday to debate the Port City Commission Bill. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says that we are in a mighty hurry to pass the Port City Bill. There is no hurry. The matter has been in public domain for months. He was also opposed to debating regulations on medicine imports. Then we read the text of the regulations to him and he agreed. This is his situation and level. We cannot wait till he understands and gives his okay to proceed. This is not his government but ours,” the Minister said.
“Premadasa and his men have started a campaign to sabotage the government’s development work. They demand that development including Ruwanpura Expressway should be stopped and money should be used to buy vaccines. Who says that the government has no money to buy medicine? We have funds to buy medicine, buy oxygen, beds and to do PCRs.We pay the salaries of public servants on the due date. Our government has money sufficient to face the challenges while developing the country. The Opposition does not need to worry about how to run the affairs of the government.We can do that better than they can even imagine.
“Now not only Premadasa and his men, the JVP too are shouting against making beds for patients.We have started making 10,000 beds in ten days.We do our duty.
Has Premadasa or any of his men given at least a single bed to a patient? Ours is an impotent opposition and there is no medicine to remedy their maladies. Come what may challenge, we will continue our development drive,” the Minister said.Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa was also present.
