MP Mano Ganesan, leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), has accused the government of postponing a scheduled Parliamentary debate on recent debt agreements with bilateral creditors. Ganesan claims the delay is due to unresolved issues with private bondholders, not the death of Tamil National Alliance MP R. Sampanthan as officially stated.

In a post on 'X', Ganesan explained that the government canceled the debate because it encountered difficulties with private bondholders, preventing the provision of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) copies to the parliamentary finance committee. "There weren’t MoU copies! There wasn’t a debate!! Therefore, the debt restructuring process is INCOMPLETE," he stated.

The opposition, according to Ganesan, had sought the debate to address these issues but faced pressure to vote against the MoUs. The United People’s Alliance (SJB Alliance), of which TPA is a part, had planned to abstain from voting after the debate to send a positive message to bilateral creditors, including the OCC and China, signaling their support for restructuring.

Ganesan commended India’s significant $4 billion contribution to Sri Lanka, highlighting its role in stabilizing the economy and aiding the country in reaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He criticized the Sri Lankan Government’s handling of the Debt Restructuring process, suggesting it was influenced by local electoral considerations.

Sri Lanka signed deals with China and other creditor nations on June 26 to restructure about $10 billion in bilateral debt, marking a significant step in a process that began in September 2022. Agreements were signed with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) co-chaired by Japan, India, and France, and separately with China EXIM Bank to rework $4.2 billion of debt.