News
SLFP to re-think role in ruling alliance says party secy.
“Things are heating up…..problems are piling”
ECONOMYNEXT – The public is losing confidence in the government and its coalition partner, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) may soon have to take a call on whether or not to go it alone at the upcoming provincial council elections, a party senior said.
SLFP Vice President Prof Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa told EconomyNext that the SLFP has yet to decide whether to contest the PC polls as a partner of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led alliance.
With the national New Year approaching, Piyadasa said, “things are heating up” in the country as the prices of goods continue to rise.
“Then there is the coconut oil issue and the sugar issue. Coconut oil is something that is fundamental to Avurudu celebrations. Problems are piling up, not easing,” he said.
Piyadasa was referring to a controversy surrounding imported coconut oil that is allegedly contaminated with high levels of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic substance, as well as the so-called sugar scam which opposition parties claim has cost the country Rs 15.9 billion in tax revenue.
SLFP leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena has made it clear that the party wishes to form an SLFP government in the future, said Piyadsa.
“We are working towards that end,” he said.
On March 18, Piyadasa told EconomyNext that that the SLFP party rank and file have raised concerns about broken promises within the alliance.
“Our Urban Council members at the grassroots level weren’t given money to do their council work. They couldn’t even put up a lamp-post. So there is huge pressure from the lower levels of the party,” he said.
“We have to do something about this immediately. We cannot go on like this,” he added.
The party is currently accepting nomination papers for the provincial council polls. The deadline for applications has been extended to April 15 after which, he said, the party will start organizing in all districts.
“The cabinet has said elections should be held, but we still don’t know what under what law they plan to hold the election.”
Last month, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said the PC polls must be held soon either under the previous Provincial Councils Elections Act or under the proposed new (Amendment) Act with its “complications” removed.
The presidential secretariat quoted Rajapaksa as saying the Amended Provincial Councils Act which included a new delimitation of the constituencies, a quota for women candidates and other changes “had been defeated by the former government which proposed it.”
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court determined that the PC polls can be held under either the old or new system but upon the amending legislation being passed. The Rajapaksa government has yet pass amendments to the (Amendment) Act to conduct the elections under the previous proportional representation system.
All nine provinces in Sri Lanka are currently being run by their respective governors following the end of their five-year terms at various points. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has also called for the early conduct of polls, a sentiment echoed by India. The provincial councils are a legacy of the Indo-Lanka accord signed in 1987.
The Purawesi Balaya organisation yesterday (24) lodged a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, requesting an investigation into the alleged overpayment of Rs. 200 million in detention charges for 40 container trucks used in the removal of waste from the distressed ship X-Press Pearl.
According to the complaint, the waste from the ship was transported from a temporary yard in Wattala to the storage yard in Pamunugama using 40 containers, for which an excessive amount — approximately Rs. 200 million — had been paid as detention fees. This information has reportedly been included in the 2021 annual report of the Marine Environment Protection Authority
(MEPA), as cited in a report submitted to Parliament by the National Audit Office.After lodging the complaint Purawesi Balaya Chairman Jamuni Kamantha Thushara said that they hoped the CIABOC would conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
By Sujeewa Thathsara
The main suspect in the shooting and killing of political activist Dan Priyasad had been arrested, the police said yesterday. Investigators suspect that notorious Mohommad Najim Mohommad Imran alias Kanjipani Imran, who is taking refuge in Dubai, ordered Priyasad’s killing.
The suspect is a resident of Wellampitiya.
The convenor of the “Nawa Sinhale National Movement” and political activist, Dan Priyasad, was fatally shot at the ‘Laksanda Sevana’ Housing Complex in Wellampitiya on Tuesday (22) night. He was initially admitted to the Colombo National
Hospital with gunshot wounds, but passed away shortly after due to the severity of his injuries. Priyasad was reportedly shot four times—twice in the chest and twice in the shoulder. Additionally, another individual who sustained minor injuries during the incident is also currently receiving treatment in hospital.
It is reported that two individuals, who had arrived on a motorcycle, fired multiple shots using a pistol before fleeing the scene.
As of yesterday evening police had taken into custody seven persons including two women for questioning related to Priyasad’s murder.
According to police, the contract was arranged by a three-wheeler owner named Dulan, also a resident of Wellampitiya. Dulan is currently in police custody and has provided investigators with key information. It was revealed that Dulan is related to the father and son duo who are the main suspects in a previous case involving the murder of Dan Priyasad’s younger brother. Dulan reportedly informed them that Dan continued to harass him.
The conflict reportedly escalated on April 20, when Dan Priyasad allegedly assaulted Dulan during an altercation in Wellampitiya, also damaging his three-wheeler with a sharp weapon. Dulan later discussed the incident with the father and son, who in turn contacted underworld criminal Grandpass Danushka in Dubai. Danushka, a close associate of Kanjipani Imran, informed him of the issue as well.
Imran, who reportedly had his own grudge against Dan Priyasad, allegedly agreed to support the murder plan and instructed that two contract killers be engaged to carry out the hit.
Dulan did not complain to the police about damage to his three-wheeler but instead had another individual file a complaint on his behalf — believed to be an attempt to distance himself from the murder plot.
The assassination was initially planned for April 21 in front of the Wellampitiya Police Station, when Dan Priyasad was expected to appear in relation to that complaint. However, he did not show up, and the attempt failed. Later that night, the killers struck while Dan was at a family gathering.
So far, police have questioned nearly 20 individuals in connection with the case. A special police team has been deployed to locate the missing father and son, but multiple searches of suspected hideouts have yielded no results.
By Norman Palihawadane and Hemantha Randunu
The government has declared April 26, 2025 (Saturday), a National Day of Mourning in view of late Pope Francis’ funeral, the Ministry of Public Administration announced.
Pope Francis’ funeral has been scheduled for Saturday in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican announced following a meeting of the College of Cardinals at the Catholic Church’s city-state headquarters in the heart of Rome.
The coffin carrying the pope, who died Monday morning after suffering a stroke and heart failure at the age of 88, was brought in a procession on Wednesday morning to the basilica from his residence at Casa Santa Marta, where he died.
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