Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary and former MP Sagara Kariyawasam questioned President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s remarks on taxation and raised the possibility of impeachment at a media briefing on 2 November.
Kariyawasam said the President had claimed in a speech the previous Saturday that his administration had introduced no new taxes and had continued with those in place when it assumed office.
Disputing this, Kariyawasam alleged that several taxes had been increased and new taxes introduced since Dissanayake came to power. He claimed the remarks demonstrated a lack of understanding of taxation by the President, who also serves as Finance Minister.
Kariyawasam also questioned the President’s mental fitness for office and claimed that the Constitution provided for his removal through impeachment on grounds of mental incapacity. No medical evidence supporting that allegation was cited in the supplied account.
