GSP plus issue:

UNP complaints against Govt not justifiable - Minister

Uditha Kumarsinghe and Irangika Range

Chief Government Whip Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardane yesterday requested Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to disclose to the House whether he had made any complaint against Sri Lanka to the EU to discontinue with the GSP plus tax relief to Sri Lanka.

The Minister said complaints against the Government by the UNP on the GSP plus issue are not justifiable. The UNP's attempts to block the GSP plus relief is an act made against the country and thousands of employees work in the apparel industry sector.

The UNP is attempting to take revenge from the Government and the people by taking a political mileage from this issue, Minister Gunawardane said.

The Minister said: "When the GSP plus issue came earlier as well, the Opposition Leader said that thousands of employees would be deprived of their employment within six months. Therefore I would like to ask the Opposition Leader whether he has not made any complaint to the EU to block the GSP plus facility to Sri Lanka."

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said neither he or his party had requested the EU to discontinue with the GSP plus facility to Sri Lanka.

"If the UNP had complained against Sri Lanka to the EU, it should have been recorded in the EU files and minutes on Sri Lanka," he said.