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Govt. urged to take action against deputy minister

Published

2 months ago

2025/12/15

Sahan Weerasooriya

Ajith / Eranga

Allegation of doing business with state:

Civil society activist Oshala Herath has said that regardless of the political party one represents, all members of Parliament should abide by the law of the land. Herath said so when The Island sought his response to a report that he was planning to move court against Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, accused of holding the top positions at Omobio (Pvt.) and Eimsky Business Solutions (Pvt.) Ltd., at the time of the nominations, and took oaths as a National List MP of the NPP government.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the Minister of Digital Economy, in addition to being Minister of Defence and Finance.

Herath is the Chairman of Abhinawa Niwahal Peramuna. Herath, whose legal challenge to SJB MP Diana Gamage over her citizenship issue, led to her removal from Parliament by the Supreme Court on 08 May, last year. He said the latest case underscored the responsibility on the part of political parties to ensure transparency in the nomination process as well as in the finalisation of National List.

Herath pointed out that the court rulings on petitions filed by him against two serving MPs were pending. He moved court against Jaffna District Independent MP Ramanathan Archchuna for handing over nominations to contest the 2024 November parliamentary elections without resigning from his post as a government medical officer. He also moved court against Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Dr. Upali Pannilage, alleging that he had been an employee of the University of Ruhuna at the time he was declared an MP and subsequently appointed as a Cabinet Minister.

Our efforts to contact Deputy Minister Weeraratne were in vain. Our calls went unanswered.

Pointing out that there were many attorneys-at-law in the current Parliament, Herath emphasised the responsibility on their part to take up the issue. The Speaker should, on his own, inquire into such allegations in addition to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee stepping in, Herath said. Responding to another query, Herath said that such violations as well as cases of conflict of interests were far more serious than the recent controversy over NPP National List MP Asoka Ranwala’s educational qualifications.

SJB MP Ajith P. Perera told The Island that the Deputy Minister concerned admitted in Parliament that he had held top posts in the companies mentioned at the time he took oaths as an MP. Therefore, there couldn’t be any ambiguity with regard to his fault. Perera said that the conflict of interest issue involving NPPer was far more serious.

Referring to the issue at hand that had been first raised by SJB lawmaker Amila Prasad Siriwardena in Parliament during committee stage of the debate on the 2026 Budget, Attorney-at-Law Perera said that Weeraratne’s companies were engaged in mega business deals with the government. Declaring that they had secured contracts for government projects since 2019, Perera said that one of the companies Weeraratne was involved in had recently won a major contract from the incumbent government regarding the electronic ticketing system.

Kalutara District MP called for a comprehensive inquiry into the issue as the NPP had come to power, accusing all other political parties of waste, corruption, irregularities and mismanagement of state funds. MP Perera queried whether the current dispensation followed proper procedures in selecting Weeraratne’s company for the ticketing project

Both Herath and Perera urged the JVP and NPP to look into what they called the Weeraratne affair.

Over the years, several MPs had been disqualified to hold parliamentary seats. Dr. Rajitha Senaratne is one of them. When the Court of Appeal dismissed Dr. Senaratne from Parliament for being a supplier to the government, Ranil Wickremesinghe brought him back to Parliament, through the National List.

MP Perera said that since the last parliamentary election, the NPP had been embroiled in many controversies, including the release of 323 containers from the Colombo Port, in January this year, followed by signing of seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)/agreements with India in April.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya extended

Published

9 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

The landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya by the Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation have been extended till 0600 hrs on 15th February 2026.

Accordingly,
The Level II [AMBER] warnings issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Walapane and Nildandahinna in the Nuwar Eliya district and the
Level I [YELLOW] warning issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara in the Kandy district have been extended.

Latest News

Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

10 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 11.30 a.m. 14 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 14 February 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts after 1.00 p.m. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions – PM

Published

20 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a meeting held at Monaragala Royal College to brief education authorities of the Monaragala District on the new education reforms.

Under the new education reforms, Smart Boards will be provided to 132 schools in the Monaragala District as part of the program to equip secondary schools with modern technology. As a symbolic step under this initiative, Smart Boards were presented to 10 secondary schools under the Prime Minister’s patronage. This program is being implemented with the intervention of the Digital Task Force operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also emphasized that a new digital policy, formulated with special attention to child protection, will be introduced in April.

As part of her visit to the Monaragala District on the 13 th of February, the Prime Minister observed the implementation of the new learning methodologies introduced for Grade One under the new education reforms. She visited Kumbukkana Sri Shanmugam Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya in Monaragala to observe the educational activities of Grade One students.

Considering the increase of student numbers and the development of infrastructure facilities, the Prime Minister also approved a proposal submitted by the School Development Society to rename Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya as Monaragala Dharmaraja Maha Vidyalaya.

Teachers briefed the Prime Minister that the new education system, supported by revised workbooks and activity-based learning methods, has proven to be effective, with students participating enthusiastically.

Addressing education officials further at the meeting held at Monaragala Royal College, the Prime Minister stated:

“Although this will not provide a complete solution to the existing teacher vacancies, these examinations can offer considerable relief. According to the Court’s previous determination, the effective date of degree completion had been set as 30.06.2025. However, considering numerous requests and following the cabinet approval we have sought Court’s consent to revise this date. We will act in accordance with the decision granted.

Funds allocated for school infrastructure must be utilized transparently and in line with proper planning, and progress must be reported accordingly. We cannot move forward by dividing ourselves along national, provincial, rural, or urban lines. As education authorities, you must make swift and accurate decisions based on correct data.

Further, discussions are already underway within the Piriven Committee of the Ministry of Education to develop Piriven education and to address the issues faced by Piriven teachers.”

The event was attended by the members of the Maha Sangha, Uva Province Governor Attorney-at-Law Kapila Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce R.M. Jayawardhana, Member of Parliament Ajith Agalakada, Uva Provincial Education Secretary Nihal Gunarathne, and several officials from the education sector.