Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation K.D. Lal Kantha has said that the current controversy is not genuinely about education reform but about a broader “education transformation”, accusing several critics of using vulgar and abusive language against Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya instead of engaging with the substance of the changes.
He made these remarks while addressing the annual convention of the Sri Lanka Agricultural College Alumni Association (SAPSA) yesterday (10).
The minister said Sri Lanka has entered a transformational phase across key sectors, including agriculture, education and politics, but public discourse has been distorted by personal attacks on the Prime Minister.
“Reforms have been taking place continuously. Now we are in a transformational era. Agriculture is in a transformational phase. Education is in a transformational phase. Politics is also in a transformational phase. But today, instead of discussing education, people are talking about the Prime Minister — who she is, how she behaves, what she likes and dislikes,” he said.
Lal Kantha added that the way some opponents speak about the education transformation and the Prime Minister reveals their own level of understanding. He singled out a religious figure based in Mihintale, referring to him as a “Mihintale savage”, alleging that the individual uses nothing but crude and abusive language when speaking about the reforms and Amarasuriya.
“Especially that ‘Mihintale savage’ — he speaks only in filthy language,” the minister said, arguing that such conduct exposes the lack of intellectual and moral grounding among some of the loudest critics.
He further said that no Prime Minister under an executive presidency has ever been subjected to such relentless personal attacks, and accused certain groups of being driven by hostility towards a woman in power.
“There is clear misogyny and sexual prejudice behind much of this. Many of these people cannot accept a woman exercising authority, especially one who is educated and internationally exposed,” Lal Kantha said.
He also claimed that some political actors are deliberately targeting Prime Minister Amarasuriya while avoiding direct criticism of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, as part of a calculated political strategy.
