News

Opposition alleges govt. conspiracy to oust CB Governor

Published

4 years ago

2022/09/3

By Saman Indrajith

The government was conspiring to remove Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe as the Governor of the Central Bank and replace him with a henchman of the government, Opposition Leader, Sajith Premadasa told Parliament, yesterday.Premadasa said that on Wednesday, Dr. Weerasinghe had been asked to make a presentation in parliament on the state of the economy.

“There must be some kind of agreement among ourselves about the direction the economy should take. However, what is more important is to have an agreement among the President, the Prime Minister, the government and the Governor of the Central Bank. During that presentation, we saw that a lot of government MPs were making various insinuations about the Governor,” Premadasa said.

The Opposition Leader said that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had requested Dr. Weerasinghe to take over as the Governor of the Central Bank.

“Dr. Weerasinghe didn’t ask for the job. We asked a man who was living well in Australia to come and help us. Both Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy and Dr. Weerasinghe are ideal for the job. This was the right choice. The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance is also good. However, now some elements are using a few MPs to make various accusations against Dr. Weerasinghe. They are saying Dr. Weerasinghe is a dual citizen. On Thursday, a MP took 20 minutes of the time allocated for the government and insinuated that Dr. Weerasinghe was the reason why Sri Lanka went bankrupt. Of course, the accusation was not made directly,” the Opposition Leader said.

Premadasa said such utterances were a part of a concerted conspiracy to slander Dr. Weerasinghe. He warned that this was a bad omen and Dr. Weerasinghe’s departure would have a devastating impact on the country.

“The government talks about the need to start an all-party government. Its MPs accuse the opposition of playing politics. However, when we see what the government is up to. They are trying to send Dr. Weerasinghe back to Australia and appoint a henchman. Because of things like this, we can’t even imagine forming an all-party government with you,” he said.

During the meeting with Dr. Weerasinghe, the government MPs did not allow SJB MPs, Lakshman Kiriella and Dr. Harsha de Silva to ask questions, the Opposition Leader said.

“The MPs were behaving like hooligans. Dr. de Silva left the meeting. We were embarrassed. Don’t try to get rid of Dr. Weerasinghe through conspiracies. Don’t try to deny this. To rebuild the country, there needs to be some consensus within the government,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Minister of Finance Mohammad Ali Sabry said that he had been made the Finance Minister at a time when no one was willing to take up the job. He said that it was under his tenure that the negotiations with the IMF had started.

“At that time, we had to decide whether to spend everything we had on paying off foreign debts or spend the little we had on providing basic necessities to the people. The decision was taken after discussing with all. I was the finance Minister then. When the Central bank suggested we default, I spoke with the then President twice. We spoke to experts, local and foreign. I also spoke to Dr. Harsha de Silva . We had to pay 200 million US dollars. The Treasury had 37,000 dollars. We had to pay 500 million dollars to pay for essentials. Are we paying for essentials or are we servicing debt? I am willing to take responsibility,” he said.

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Fuel prices increased

Published

6 hours ago

2026/05/31

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight on Saturday (May 30).

Accordingly,
the price of Auto Diesel has been increased by Rs. 15 to Rs.407 per liter,
the price of Super Diesel has been increased by Rs. 20 to Rs. 478 per liter.
the price of Petrol 92 Octane has been increased by Rs. 24 to Rs. 434 per liter
the price of Petrol 95 Octane up by Rs. 25 to Rs. 495 per liter
the price of kerosene by Rs. 20 to Rs. 285 per liter.

News

Sangha reform drives stymied from within: CBK

Published

7 hours ago

2026/05/31

Thilina Walpola

Chandrika

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has called for a comprehensive reform programme within Sri Lanka’s Buddhist clergy, warning that repeated efforts to strengthen the Sasana have in the past been derailed by opposition from within sections of the Sangha itself.

In a statement addressed to the Mahanayake Theras of the three Buddhist chapters, Kumaratunga stressed that the long-term preservation of Buddhism depends on safeguarding both the Dhamma and Vinaya, or disciplinary code, and urged urgent internal reform to address what she described as deep-rooted structural weaknesses.

She noted that Buddhist history has consistently demonstrated that periods of institutional crisis were addressed through reform processes, citing precedents from the First Buddhist Council to reforms during the Kandyan era under Welivita Sri Saranankara Thera.

Referring to post-independence efforts, Kumaratunga said initiatives taken during the 1956 Bandaranaike administration to strengthen Buddhism were left incomplete following the assassination of former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

She further stated that during her own presidency, plans to convene a Buddhist Council under the guidance of the late Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayake Thera had received government backing but were ultimately abandoned due to resistance from certain sections within the clergy.

The former President alleged that, on both occasions, vested interests benefiting from existing weaknesses within the Buddhist establishment had worked to obstruct meaningful reform efforts.

Warning that Buddhism in Sri Lanka is currently facing serious challenges, she called for a broad internal dialogue within the Sangha to identify root causes and implement both short- and long-term corrective measures.

Kumaratunga urged the Mahanayake Theras to take the lead in convening a Dharma Sanghayana, or Buddhist Council, and said she was prepared to work with senior lay Buddhist leaders to support such an initiative.

News

Court orders arrest of Basil

Published

7 hours ago

2026/05/31

Thilina Walpola

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the arrest of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Bhashwara Gunaratne, Managing Director Rumi Jauffer and several others over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million belonging to the Tourism Promotion Authority during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council election campaign.

Magistrate Pasan Amarasena directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest and produce the suspects before court, after it was informed that they would be named under the Public Property Act on the advice of the Attorney General.

The CID told court that attempts to take the suspects into custody from their residences had been unsuccessful as they were not present.

The Magistrate also imposed an overseas travel ban on the suspects and ordered that the Controller of Immigration and Emigration be notified.

Investigations have reportedly revealed that the funds were used to print 12,000 T-shirts bearing an image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on one side and the name of a political party on the other.

According to the CID, the T-shirts were later distributed at a political event held in the Monaragala District.