Tuesday 28 of June 2011
(Lanka-e-News -27.June.2011, 11.55P.M.) According to reports from Moscow, President Rajapakse’s tour of Russia to attend the International economic conference on the 18th of June at St. Petersburgh city , was as hollow as it was shallow. Though the State Media made a huge din and gave immense publicity blowing it out of proportion, the junket had been a flop.The first ridiculous feature of this conference and his junket is , it is one where one had to participate after making a payment of US Dollars 3000/- per head. The SL President too has participated in this conference after getting an invitation paying US $ 3000/- . Nine out of the 81 who went with the President had purchased tickets for the conference after paying US $ 27000/- which in SL rupees is 30 lakhs. Despite all these expenditures and media trumpeting made in this junket ,the President has attended the conference on the first and last sessions only. The second striking feature is , the Hotel charges in Russia during this period are exorbitant- threefold more! Therefore the State leader is duty bound to reveal to the Parliament details of the expenditures and the purpose this junket served in the interests of the country – not the interests served by it to those 81 merry makers who accompanied him.
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