Two luxurious residences in Colombo for Minister Lalkantha

The Joint Opposition has released a new charge sheet, severely criticizing the current government's actions and the conduct of Minister K.D. Lalkantha.

Speaking at a seminar organized by the Joint Opposition, Opposition Member of Parliament Chamara Sampath Dasanayake revealed that Minister Lalkantha is constructing two luxurious mansions in Maharagama and Kaduwela, spending an enormous sum of millions of rupees. The MP stated that it is regrettable that this minister, who entered Parliament with a powerful mandate of over three hundred thousand preferential votes from the people of the Kandy District, is building houses for his personal use instead of providing housing for the common people who were left helpless by the recent 'Ditwah' disaster. Furthermore, he added that the ministers of the current government, who publicly swore to the people that they would refrain from using new luxury vehicles, have now completely forgotten those promises and are acting in a completely different manner.

Mr. Dasanayake pointed out that the National People's Power (NPP) benefited from the decision of some opposition political groups not to contest the general election held in 2024, which enabled them to exceed 150 seats in Parliament. The MP stated that if those politicians had contested the election, the current government would have only secured around 120 seats. He also revealed that after he made this statement on a television program, the government ordered authorities to search for evidence to imprison him.

Meanwhile, former Member of Parliament Patali Champika Ranawaka stated that the 'Ditwah' disaster situation faced by the country in recent days was not due to natural causes but was created by human error. He said that despite the Department of Meteorology issuing the first warning regarding this on November 12th, no steps were taken to open the spill gates of the main reservoirs according to a systematic plan. Instead, the sudden and simultaneous opening of the gates of reservoirs, including Kotmale, after November 27th led to this great catastrophe. Mr. Ranawaka pointed out that due to the sudden opening of the Randenigala reservoir gates, the city of Mahiyanganaya was flooded for the first time in Sri Lankan history. He accused President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is in charge of disaster management, and Minister Lalkantha, who is in charge of Mahaweli affairs, of being directly responsible for this destruction. He also emphasized that there was more than enough opportunity to prevent this great public suffering if the authorities had made the correct decisions at the right time.

Former Member of Parliament Vajira Abeywardena stated that the current government is completely disregarding the official agreements and programs established with the International Monetary Fund during the tenure of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. He said that although Sri Lanka is obligated to maintain a foreign reserve of 8 billion US dollars for the country's economic stability, the current administration has failed to achieve this. Furthermore, he pointed out that the embezzlement of 2.5 million dollars is a direct violation of the Central Bank Amendment Act, which provides provisions for how foreign debts are to be settled.

Member of Parliament Dayasiri Jayasekara stated that due to the actions of the current government, the fundamental value systems prevalent in Sri Lankan society, as well as the place of Buddhism, are being destroyed. He proposed that all opposition political groups should quickly unite around a common goal to protect these noble values held by the people. Meanwhile, commenting on the investigations into the Easter Sunday terrorist attack that shook the entire country, former Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe stated that the government has so far failed to record a statement from former Attorney General Dappula de Livera, who publicly declared on the day of his retirement that there was an organized conspiracy behind this attack. He further mentioned that it is a serious shortcoming that the government has not yet questioned the former Attorney General, especially given that even His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, is paying close attention to this matter and demanding justice.