Despite his previous statement that an ordinary family in Sri Lanka can live a period of one month with Rs 2500, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena Has now stated that an average family needs at least Rs 3500 for their monthly expenses.

The Education Minister has made this remark while participating in a radio interview. He added that according to the present economic situation he is compelled to ‘update’ his previous statement.

“I made that statement a long time ago, but I still know of people who survive in the current economy with an income around Rs 2500. Understandably that amount is not sufficient now”, he said.

The Minister has made an open challenge to any person with some knowledge on economics to come for an open debate with him over the matter.

When the Minister made his earlier remark, there was a huge public outcry saying the Minister had trivialized the country’s economic issues. The Minister has not yet presented any facts or statistics to substantiate his ‘Rs 2500 claim’.

According to independent analysts, an average family of four need at least Rs 40 000 as their monthly income to ensure reasonable living standards.