– Referring to a remark made by President Anura Kumara Dissannayake that people should reduce the number of their hospital visits, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa said the government should not suppress the people’s right to seek hospital treatment when they fall sick.“President Dissanayake has said the annual visits to hospitals in Sri Lanka is found to be 80 million. He has told the people to use traditional medicines such as Coriander instead of seeking hospital treatment. This is a suppression of the people’s right to seek hospital treatment,” the MP said.He said people in the villages have no other alternative but to visit hospitals in their respective villages.

“Village people cannot afford luxurious hospitals like the Ministers,” he said in this regard.“There is a shortage of life-saving drugs, including those which are used for cancer patients. Also, the number of dengue cases has exceeded 100,000. The government should supply these life-saving drugs,” he added.Furthermore, the SLPP MP questioned as to what had become of the pledges given by the government during the election period, such as the promise to construct 50 new universities.

MP Rajapaksa who is under arrest was brought to Parliament in a prison bus under heavy security.