Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has accused the National People’s Power (NPP) government of violating citizens’ rights and steering the country towards an authoritarian system that could undermine democracy.
Premadasa made the remarks while addressing a public meeting held in the Lunugamwehera New Town in the Tissamaharama electorate of the Hambantota District to discuss the grievances faced by farmers.
The Opposition Leader alleged that the government was implementing a national programme aimed at reducing citizen participation and narrowing the space for democratic engagement.
He claimed that what he described as the government’s anti-democratic actions had begun with youth society elections, subsequently extended through civil security committees, and had now expanded to what he described as governing the country according to a single political viewpoint through the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
Premadasa further alleged that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s main objective was to place the entire state machinery under the direction of a single political party and remain in power indefinitely.
He also accused the government of failing to deliver on several promises made while it was in opposition, including a pledge to reduce electricity tariffs by 33%, provide fuel at the price at which it is unloaded at the port, offer young people Vitz cars for Rs. 1.2 million, and guarantee a fixed price of Rs. 150 per kilogram for paddy.
Premadasa further alleged that the government had substantially increased fuel and gas prices before subsequently making only minor reductions, while portraying the reductions through what he described as media publicity campaigns.
Referring to President Dissanayake’s campaign image as a “son of a farmer,” Premadasa claimed that the government had now even restricted chena cultivation, thereby threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.
He further alleged that the country’s agricultural sector as a whole—including paddy, field crops, vegetables, fruits and export crops—was facing a severe decline.
Premadasa also cautioned the government against assuming that it was politically invincible simply because it holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament, control of local government institutions and the executive presidency.
He recalled the events of 2019, when former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, despite securing 6.9 million votes, was eventually forced to leave office amid mass public protests.
Premadasa said the current government should remember that experience and recognise that public sentiment can ultimately determine the fate of any government.
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