- Ranjan Arun Prasad
- For BBC Tamil
Former Minister P. Harrison has said he wants the law to be enacted so that married couples in Sri Lanka can have five children.
He was commenting on the situation where people are waiting in long queues to buy essential items across the country.
The ruling party claims that those who comment on child queuing are committing fraud.
“Everywhere you look today, the tide of protectionist sentiment is flowing. Raising five children can put the youngest child in the queue for oil purchases. The second child can be parked in the cooking gas line. The other child should be parked in the Palma line. The fourth child should be placed in the sugar row. Finally, the fifth child will have to stand in the rice queue to cook and eat the porridge, ”said P. Harrison.
The Registrar General had recently issued conditions requiring permission from the Ministry of Defense to marry a foreigner.
He says the country is now in a position to include in the terms and conditions the obligation to have five children after marriage.
He points out that if they do not raise five children, they will not be able to meet their basic needs and claim rights in the future.
” If you have two children after marriage, you can only park them in two rows. If so, parents may not be able to do their job. Even if she has three children, it will not be enough. Only three items can be queued to purchase them. The rest cannot be done. Although they buy three items, cooking gas, sugar and oil, there is no one to buy rice. There will not even be rice to drink the porridge. That’s why I said that five children are essential for everyday basic needs and rights, “former minister P. Harrison told BBC Tamil.
He says that in the future, instead of sending children to school, they will have to be sent to queue for purchases.
BBC Tamil questioned the former minister as to whether you, as a former Minister of Agriculture, could, as a responsible politician, stop mocking the government and present your ideas to them and move the country forward, at a time when the country is moving towards collapse.
” Why should we present our ideas to them. Had they not expressed the view that the country could be developed, they would have taken charge of this country. No need for ideas, if you can not, hand over the government to us and go. Hand over the country to Sajid Premadasa and leave. After that we do the country. To implement our ideas, they are not needed. We implement our ideas ourselves. This government does not have a proper program, “said P. Harrison.
Government response
The government has responded to allegations by opposition parties that some frauds are taking place in the nation-building program.
State Minister Piyal Nishantha has mentioned this.
He also claims that the opposition is directly involved in these fraudulent activities.
State Minister Piyal Nishantha has also said that the party which publishes comments on the queues is carrying out frauds.
Meanwhile, Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena said the government has prepared a program for the next three years.
He said that through this three year program, he is sure to re-emerge and he is sure that he will rebuild the country economically.