News

Ketagoda who resigned for BR to re-enter House as Cabraal’s successor

Published

5 years ago

2021/09/14

Sahan Weerasooriya

Resigned in July… back in Sept

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former actor Jayantha Katagoda will be the first lawmaker to re-enter the same Parliament on the National List after having quit the same.

The ruling SLPP has decided to re-appoint Ketagoda to Parliament on its NL to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Ajith Nivard Cabraal. Sources say it’ll be the first such re-entry since the creation of the National List in 1989.

Ketagoda quit his seat in early July to pave the way for Basil Rajapaksa’s entry into Parliament. Sources say Ketagoda’s re-appointment received the immediate blessings of SLPP founder Basil Rajapaksa.

Of the total of 29 NL slots, the SLPP secured 17 and the remaining slots were shared among several political parties. The main Opposition SJB obtained 7.

Political sources say that of the 17 NL slots won by the SLPP, civil society grouping Viyathmaga received two. Cabraal who served as the Governor of the Central Bank (2006-2014) filled one slot whereas Dr. Seetha Arambepola secured the other, sources say.

Altogether Viyathmaga group in parliament comprises nine members – two NL slots and seven elected members.

They say Basil Rajapaksa, too, entered Parliament under controversial circumstances as he hadn’t been on the SLPP NL submitted to the Election Commission (EC) in the run-up to the last parliamentary election in August 2000. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC (2004), Dullas Alahapperuma (2005), Basil Rajapaksa (2007) and Saman Ratnapriya (2020) entered Parliament in spite of them not being nominees in the original NL or failed candidates at the relevant general election, sources say.

One-time UNPer Jayantha Ketagoda first entered Parliament in 2010 to fill the vacancy created by the then Democratic Party Leader Sarath Fonseka’s dismissal on a ruling given by a Military Tribunal.

Ketagoda received the parliamentary seat after the JVP’s Lakshman Nipunaarachchi turned down the opportunity.

Sources say it is not clear who’ll receive portfolios –State Minister of Finance, Capital Markets, State Enterprise and Reforms held by Cabraal.

Meanwhile, the former Governor of Uva, Central and Southern Provinces during Maithripala Sirisena’s presidency, Keerthi Tennakoon questioned Cabraal’s re-appointment on the basis him being named in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) report that dealt with the issuance of Treasury bonds.

Civil society activist Tennakoon said that the SLPP parliamentary group should make its position clear whether the appointment of a person who functioned as the State Finance Minister to the post of Central Bank Governor, was acceptable to the party. Tennakoon compared the latest appointment with that of Arjuna Mahendran’s appointment as CB Governor, a Singaporean national in 2015 in spite of strong objections by the then Joint Opposition.

Tennakoon rather frivolously asked how Cabraal could take over the CBSL Governorship immediately after giving up his parliamentary seat.

The former Executive Director of polls monitoring NGO outfit CaFFE said that the SLPP obviously had failed to learn from what he called yahapalana leaders’ strategic mistakes. The national economy was in such bad shape the government should quickly work towards ending continuing any uncertainty, Tennakoon said.

Responding to questions regarding the deepening financial turmoil, Tennakoon said that the government couldn’t afford to delay taking tangible measures to stop the rot.

He emphasised that the crisis today was certainly not political. “The SLPP should know that its near two-thirds majority is irrelevant and doesn’t in any way help address the deteriorating national economy,” Tennakoon said, adding that making big plans for the 2022 budget was nothing but a joke.

Tennakoon asked whether Cabraal received CBSL because he represented Viyathmaga that campaigned for Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the 2019 presidential poll. Tennakoon alleged that the SLPP had lost direction and was simply struggling to cope up with the extremely difficult situation caused by the raging Covid-19 epidemic.

All News Advertisement

News

Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

8 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

8 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

8 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.