Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has accused the current government of concealing actual economic data and creating misleading figures to achieve its own objectives, alleging that the government is pursuing a fraudulent programme.He made these remarks while addressing a pre-budget workshop on the 2027 Budget attended by opposition MPs, university professors and industry experts.Premadasa stated that during the presidential election, Anura Kumara Dissanayake received 42% of the votes while the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) received 32%. He argued that 74% of voters had supported moving towards a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).He said both the JVP and the SJB had promised to pursue a new IMF agreement during the election campaign. However, after coming to power, the JVP had disregarded that mandate, continued the existing IMF agreement without amendments and placed further pressure on the public.He further claimed that regardless of which political party comes to power, billionaires and trillionaires continue to benefit. According to him, the government protected the interests of wealthy financial institutions during debt restructuring while the burden of IMF conditions fell on working people through the EPF and ETF.Premadasa also criticised the government's decision to continue the IMF agreement in its existing form, claiming that it had gone even further than the previous government's neoliberal economic policies.He pointed out that Lazard was involved in Sri Lanka's debt negotiations and had also handled debt restructuring in Ghana and Zambia. He criticised the Macro-Linked Bonds issued as part of Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, arguing that the country's debt obligations could increase as economic growth improves.He added that during a recent meeting with the opposition, the IMF had indicated the need for a responsive agreement. He called for an IMF programme that prioritises the interests of the country's 22 million people rather than protecting wealthy elites.The Opposition Leader also accused the government of imposing taxes beyond IMF requirements to achieve a higher primary surplus. He claimed that the primary surplus target had increased from 2.3% to 5.4%, while government revenue as a percentage of GDP had risen from 13.9% to 15.4% through increased taxation.He said the SJB had repeatedly proposed measures to reduce the tax burden on the public.Questioning how an individual could survive on Rs. 17,000 per month, Premadasa criticised the government's poverty measurement methodology, which he said was based on a daily requirement of 2,030 kilocalories per person.Citing data from the Medical Research Institute (MRI), he said the daily calorie requirements were 3,340 for an active man, 2,340 for an average man, 2,680 for an active woman and 1,890 for an average woman.He alleged that the government was still measuring poverty using inaccurate data and referred to World Bank figures which, he claimed, indicated that nearly 60% of the country's population was living in poverty.Premadasa also questioned the effectiveness of the Aswesuma welfare programme, raising concerns about whether assistance was reaching the genuinely deserving. He alleged that some eligible individuals were being excluded while others who did not qualify were receiving benefits.He called for a revised Jana Saviya programme to address poverty more effectively, with the involvement of local government officials in identifying deserving beneficiaries.Finally, he stressed the need to strengthen agriculture, fisheries, labour and intellectual sectors. He also called for the establishment of a new development bank to support young entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).He said that despite allocations being made to support struggling businesses, many entrepreneurs were still unable to access the necessary funding. He noted that approximately 250,000 MSMEs had closed following the 2022 economic crisis.