News
State Minister Diana’s citizenship issue: Website launched to educate public

Court ruling on Oct 18
Civil society activist Oshala Herath yesterday (21) said that he had launched a special website (www.dianagamage.info) to inform the public of his case against State Minister Diana Gamage over the citizenship issue.
One-time head of New Media an outfit established by yahapalana President Maithripala Sirisena emphasized the importance of winning public support to pressure the powers that be to take corrective measures.
The Court of Appeal will deliver its verdict on Oct. 18 in respect of the petition filed against the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) National List MP. Gamage, who switched her allegiance to the ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa soon after being appointed one of the seven SJB National List MPs following the last parliamentary poll conducted in Aug 2020.
The petition sought the annulment of Gamage’s NL seat on the basis of her being a British citizen.The Court of Appeal three-judge-bench comprising Justice (President)
Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, Justice K.K.A.V. Swarnadhipathi and Justice M.A.R. Marikkar on Sept. 14 announced that the judgment in respect of this petition would be delivered on Oct. 18. The parties were directed to file their written submissions before October 4.
SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara is the fourth respondent in the unprecedented case. Herath said that public response was vital and the media, including social media, could play a significant role in efforts to address such issues.
Earlier the Court of Appeal dismissed petitioner’s request for a fuller bench of five justices of the Court to determine State Minister Diana Gamage’s citizenship matter. The appeal has been made in terms of Article 140 of the Constitution.
At the onset, the first time entrant to parliament was accused of holding British and Sri Lankan dual citizenships. However, counsel for petitioner Herath and fourth respondent Maddumabandara, Hafeel Farisz and Farman Cassim, PC, respectively, told the Court that the Controller General of Emigration and Immigration in his affidavit admitted the fact that his department has not issued a citizenship certificate to Diana Gamage though she claimed to have relinquished her British citizenship.
Shavindra Fernando, PC, who appeared for State Minister Gamage moved the court to dismiss the petition as it was contrary to the Court of Appeal rule 3(1)(a) of 1990. The counsel argued that the petitioner relied on a statement given by the lawmaker to the CID which he said was inadmissible in accordance with the Evidence Ordinance (SF)
News
Cop who accepted Rs 3000 bribe nabbed by CIABOC

A police officer attached to the Raddolugama police station who accepted a bribe of Rs 3000/- from a motorist has been nabbed by officers attached to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on Monday (14) evening.
It is alleged that the police officer demanded Rs 3000/- from the motorist to return his driving licence without prosecuting him for a traffic offence.
News
GMOA swings into action on Vithana’s disclosure of MPs’ salaries, etc.

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has sought an explanation from Parliament regarding how PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is applied to parliamentarians.
GMOA Secretary Dr. Prabath Sugathadasa has written to the Secretary General of Parliament, Kushani Rohanadeera, in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Information was sought on 09 July, 2025, in the wake of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Kalutara district parliamentarian Jagath Vithana posting his pay sheets from January to May this year on his Facebook.
In addition to information on PAYE, the GMOA has posed a number of other questions to the Secretary General regarding the parliamentarians’ salary as well as pensions.
Parliament passed the RTI Act on 24 June, 2016, and it came into effect on 03 February, 2017. This act, introduced through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, in 2015, is meant to promote transparency and accountability in government.
New controversy has erupted in the wake of Nawa Janatha Peramuna lodging a complaint with the CIABOC seeking an investigation into Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne abusing public property, a claim denied by the Secretary General of Parliament.
According to Vithana’s May pay sheet, his monthly allowance is Rs. 54,285, entertainment allowance Rs 1,000, telephone allowance Rs 50,000, sitting allowance Rs 5,000, office allowance Rs 100,000, fuel allowance Rs 97,428.92 and transport allowance Rs. 15,000. His take home pay is Rs 317, 760.92 after the deduction of Rs 1,200 for catering, stamp duty Rs. 25 and Advance Personal Income Tax (APIT).
Asked whether he regretted the releasing of pay sheets, lawmaker Vithana told The Island that in the run-up to the last parliamentary elections, held in November 2024, he had promised the Kalutara electorate he wouldn’t draw his salary. The MP said that however, he later felt the salary should be accepted and used in support of public welfare projects undertaken by him. “Therefore, the money was used appropriately,” he said, adding that both the government and Opposition MPs reacted with resentment. “I feel sort of isolated in Parliament. Hardly anyone talks to me,” MP Vithana said.
Dr. Sugathadasa said that having perused the pay sheets posted online, the GMOA had felt the urgent need to seek a clarification from Parliament as the lawmakers appeared to have received special status. The top GMOA official emphasised they wanted to establish the truth and used the RTI law to obtain information regarding the MPs’ salaries, pensions and other related information. “The GMOA made the request on 09 July, 2025. We are confident the Parliament will answer our queries,” Dr. Sugathadasa said.
Parliament meets only eight days a month. Attendance is not compulsory and there is no fixed time for lawmakers to attend sittings. Over the years, sittings have been suspended for lack of quorum.
The Island asked the GMOA official whether they would seek the intervention of the RTI Commission in case the Parliament declined to reveal the information sought by them. Dr. Sugathadasa said that the Executive Committee of the GMOA would decide the course of action if Parliament withheld information.
A few years ago Chamara Sampath, of Wijeya Newspapers, successfully moved the Court of Appeal against the Parliament after the latter refused to disclose names of Members of Parliament (MPs) who had handed over their respective declarations of assets and liabilities in 2018 and list of names of MPs who have handed over their Declarations from 2010 to the time he made the request (21 June, 2018).
The Court on 28 February, 2023, reaffirmed the RTI Commission’s stand that Declarations of Assets and Liabilities Law of 1975 (DALL) didn’t prevail over the Right to Information Act no. 12 of 2016 (RTI Act).
According to the Parliament website, an MP is paid Rs. 54,285, entertainment allowance Rs 1,000, driver’s allowance Rs 3,500 (only if driver is not provided by government). Fuel allowances are paid based on the distance from Parliament to the electoral district which each MP was elected and the approved market price of one litre of diesel on the first day of every month, telephone allowance Rs 50,000, transport allowance for personal staff Rs 10,000, and stamps worth Rs 350,000 issued to each MP annually.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
News
Udaya alleges Prez hasn’t given up efforts to bring in outsider as AG

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader and former Minister Udaya Gammanpila says President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has delayed making a permanent appointment to the post of Auditor General in a bid to bring in an outsider early next year.
Addressing the media yesterday (14), Attorney-at-Law Gammanpila said that three civil society members of the Constitutional Council, who opposed the President’s move, would be completing their term in early January next year. Instead of appointing Dharmapala Gammanpila as the Auditor General, the President had given him only an extension in service so as to get rid of him at the first available opportunity and bring in his crony from the Kelaniya University.
The former lawmaker said that the success of the President’s plan depended on the appointment of pliant civil society members to the CC, ready to help advance the NPP’s agenda.
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