UNP Member of Parliament Ajith P. Perera today demanded that the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Ajith Nivard Cabraal step down from his post immediately, and accused the latter of leaving out data on malnutrition from Central Bank reports.
Ajith Nivard Cabraal is saying that information regarding malnutrition in the country has never been included in an Annual Report of the Central Bank, Perera said.
The Kalutara District MP was referring to an instance when the CB Governor had called and questioned him during a political debate in a television channel attended by Perera and a government Minister.
He said that while accepting that this year’s report does not contain information on malnutrition, Cabraal had also said that previous versions of the report also did not contain that data.
“However, I am now showing the 2008 Report of the Central Bank, signed by Ajith Nivard Cabraal, which not only contains information regarding malnutrition but also describes it as a grave solution-less problem for which the government then had no plan,” he said, holding a copy of the report at a press conference in Colombo today.
Pointing out that even the Central Bank reports prior to 2008 had continuously detailed this issue, Perera questioned why this has been avoided. “Does malnutrition no longer exist or is it such a pointless, unimportant issue to talk about?”
The UNP parliamentarian stated that the Central Bank Governor went as far to challenge him, a representative of the people, and even called him a liar.
Perera stated that he then asked Nivard Cabraal to resign if he is able to prove that he is correct and that previous CB reports contains information on malnutrition, and promised to resign from parliament if he was incorrect.
He inquired as to why data on malnutrition in the country has been omitted from the reports of the past 5 years, since 2008.
He also charged that “Cabraal’s economic policy” is to omit malnutrition from the Central Bank report instead of taking measures to eradicate malnutrition among children and pregnant women in the country.
Ajith P. Perera added that if Mr Cabraal can challenge a statement made by a Member of Parliament during a television debate, he should resign “if he has any shame” when he has been proven wrong.
