The President is looking at appointing Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to parliament soon after the conclusion of the 2012 budget debate and appoint him as the Deputy Minister for Defence and Urban Development, a senior government minister said. UPFA National List MP Priyantha Bandara is to resign from parliament soon after the budget concludes on December 21st in order to make way for Gotabhaya’s appointment to parliament. The senior minister said the President wanted to assign many responsibilities to Gotabhaya once appointed to parliament.
The President has decided to fill the vacancy of the Defence Secretary by appointing Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Japan and former navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda to the post.
The minister who gave us the information said that Gotabhaya’s appointment is expected to break Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s monopoly in parliament.
