State Minister Dilan Perera says that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will never agree to the stripping of civic rights of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa or anyone else. Even if it is proved the they were involved in Murders of frauds in millions.
He stated that as long as President Maithripala Sirisena is the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, nobody will be allowed to do so as it is not the policy of the party.
President Maithripala Sirisena last week confirmed rumours that circulated in Colombo late last year that he had intervened to prevent the arrest of former top defence official of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.
Speaking to senior editors, Sirisena for the first time admitted he saved Gotabhaya despite having repeatedly denied he ever blocked the prosecution of the one-time de facto head of state under brother Mahinda.
Speaking at a SLFP press briefing in Colombo yesterday, the State Minister of Highways also claimed that a massive political conspiracy is being carried out by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the United National Party (UNP) behind the scenes in order to weaken the program being carried out to strengthen the SLFP-led alliance, before the election.
There have been allegations that Wickremesinghe’s Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka, had a cosy relationship with Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and that he too may have helped him evade arrest.
Political sources say former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has openly criticised Ratnayaka for the very slow progress in prosecuting Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Minister Ratnayaka’s brother Kavan Ratnayaka is also known to be a close associate of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. However, police investigators said there was nothing to prevent them from taking Gotabhaya Rajapaksa into custody in connection with several other more serious crimes, if not for political interference.