Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake yesterday pointed to the presence of the President and the Premier in Parliament as strength to defeat the no confidence motion, and threw a challenge to the Joint Opposition. 

In his response during the debate and the vote on the no confidence motion against him, Karunanayake rejected all charges. 

“The presence of Prime Minister and the President in the House during the debate gives us strength and a sense of team spirit. In the case of your motion, where are the signatures of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Namal Rajapaksa, and Wimal Weerawansa?” Karunanayake queried.

He urged MP Aluthgamage to bring the allegations against him outside Parliament to enable him to file a defamation suit. “I have filed my income statements in a timely manner. But there are many who are yet to do it,” the Finance Minister charged.

Minister Karunanayake said that the per capita debt position when the Government took over in January last year was Rs. 448,000. “We have been able to service our debt because of this Government’s good governance policies. Our taxes are equally applied on Range Rovers and BMWs. You brought gazettes to import a Bentley and three Lamborghinis without tax. But we have increased the state income,” Karunanayake said.

He said the Government had been able to increase its standing in the world and obtain concessionary loans. Exchange control regulations will also be relaxed soon, the Finance Minister vowed. “We want to have fast development in a united country and to eliminate poverty. The two main parties joined hands to make this a reality. I request you to stop cursing the darkness and light a lamp,” added Minister Karunanayake.