NDF MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake yesterday (20) launched a sharp attack on the Government in Parliament, claiming that the ongoing alleged gas shortage is the direct consequence of disregarded warnings he issued two months ago.

Addressing the House, Dassanayake pointed to what he described as a flawed decision to terminate a long-standing procurement arrangement with an Omani state-owned company in favour of a Swiss-based supplier, Geo Gas. The Government had justified the shift on the basis that the new tender was 15 US cents cheaper, he said.

However, the MP argued that the cost-saving rationale failed to account for logistical capacity.

“I said this in December, and it was reported in the news, that a gas shortage was coming,” he reminded Parliament. He claimed that the new supplier lacked adequate infrastructure to maintain a consistent supply. “This company only has two ships to bring Litro gas. They cannot manage the shipping schedules,” he alleged.

Dassanayake contended that the marginal price reduction was insignificant compared to the broader economic and social costs triggered by supply disruptions.

“If you cannot provide gas continuously to the people after giving the tender for 15 cents less, the loss to the people is much greater than those 15 cents,” he said.

Drawing parallels with past political fallout, he warned that gas shortages had played a decisive role in the collapse of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, cautioning the present leadership against repeating similar mistakes.

He also noted that his earlier warnings had been dismissed by other MPs, including Vijitha Herath, who had assured the House that no shortage would arise. Dassanayake stressed that his intervention was not intended as a media campaign against the Government, but as a response to mounting public grievances.

The MP further argued that instability in the private sector supply chain compounds the crisis. When private suppliers fail to meet demand, he said, panic buying shifts pressure onto state-supplied gas, intensifying shortages nationwide.

The Government and the Litro Gas company have denied that there is a gas shortage in the country at the moment.