Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament on Wednesday that the government had effectively admitted substandard coal had been imported, responding to a statement President Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered on Tuesday.

Premadasa said the record-low generation figures from the Lakvijaya coal power plant had proved the opposition’s case, arguing that the previous day’s output had fallen to an “unprecedented level” not seen under any government before. He framed the President’s remarks as a concession that the Lakvijaya procurement had gone wrong, shifting the political weight of the coal scandal directly onto the administration ahead of the no-confidence motion against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody scheduled for April 10.

The opposition leader also charged that the government had taken 38 days to respond to public hardship and had only moved to announce a relief package after sustained protests organised by the SJB. While welcoming the measures, he urged the administration to ensure they were implemented fully and said the Rs. 100 billion package was inadequate. He said gas consumers had been excluded and argued nearly 2.5 million people had not received sufficient support, warning that new tax proposals would place a further burden on households.

Premadasa compared the coal relief package to earlier promises made to people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, claiming that many of those pledges — including compensation, land, and financial assistance — had not been fulfilled and had led to protests by affected families.

He also renewed calls for the government to renegotiate Sri Lanka’s programme with the International Monetary Fund, arguing that the administration had previously committed to revising the arrangement but had failed to do so. Premadasa said opportunities for opposition representatives to meet IMF officials had been restricted, and alleged the government was ignoring a developing shortage of urea, MOP and TSP fertilisers despite official denials.

The remarks add further pressure on the Dissanayake administration heading into Friday’s parliamentary showdown over the Lakvijaya coal crisis and the Rs. 40 billion coal-linked tariff filing now before PUCSL.