By Buwanaka S. Perera
National People’s Power (NPP) National List MP Wasantha de Silva made history on Friday (6), becoming the first vision-impaired MP in Sri Lanka to address the House.
In his speech, MP de Silva called upon the Speaker and the members present in the House to refrain from using disabilities as derogatory terms, which he claimed, had been used in Parliament over the past decades.
MP de Silva said, during his term as an MP, he will be working with his peers for the betterment of the disabled community of the country. He also alleged that despite a circular being issued in 1988 calling for a mandatory 3 per cent quota for State sector jobs to be allocated for the disabled community, none of the previous governments implemented it. He further added that this has resulted in qualified graduates from the disabled community being left unemployed and struggling to take care of their families.
MP de Silva claimed that from the next Budget, the current welfare allowance provided by the State to disabled individuals will be increased from Rs 7,500 to Rs 10,000. He also said, the government will be bringing forward a new Act to address the issues faced by the disabled community.
He also took the opportunity to thank the Parliamentary Staff for facilitating the infrastructure and ease of accessibility within the parliamentary premises.
“My presence here is not a mere political decoration. It should be a testimony to the NPP Government’s commitment to the betterment of the lives of the disabled people in the country, which we will be proven over the next five years as we work towards it with my peers,” said MP de Silva.
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