Second Day of 2026 Budget Committee Stage Debate to Take Place Today (17)

COLOMBO (News 1st): The second day of the 2026 Budget Committee Stage Debate is scheduled to take place today.

Accordingly, the expenditure heads of the Ministry of Justice and National Integration will be taken up for debate.

The Committee Stage Debate of the Budget will continue until the 5th of December.

The vote on the third reading of the Budget is scheduled to be held on the 5th of December at 6:00 PM.

The second reading of the 2026 Budget was passed on the 7th of November with a majority of 118 votes.

In a notable development, Mano Ganesan and three other MPs of the Tamil Progressive Alliance — a allied party of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya — voted in favour of the Budget, particularly in support of the proposal to increase plantation workers’ wages.

Jeevan Thondaman, General Secretary of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress, who is also part of the opposition, also voted in favour, marking another significant moment during the vote.

The 2026 Budget was presented to Parliament by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on the 7th of this month.