Governing party members harassed by Gota joins Basil
Tuesday, 08 May 2012
Government members who have been harassed by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa have joined forces with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and are engaged in an operation to make him the next Prime Minister.
Minister Mervyn Silva, Deputy Minister Susantha Punchinilame and MP Thilanga Sumathipala are taking the lead in this endeavor.
Although Colombo District governing party ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Susil Premajayantha and A.H.M. Fowzie are displeased with the Defence Secretary for giving preferential treatment to MP Duminda Silva in development programmes in Colombo, they have refused to join Basil Rajapaksa.
Sumathipala has become one of Basil Rajapaksa’s key followers and has recently invited him as the chief guest at a meeting of SLFP activists from Borella organized by him. Basil Rajapaksa has said that the government could have won the Borella electorate if he had been involved in the Colombo Municipal Council elections, but observed that he keeps away from issues where there are many stakeholders.
At the CMC elections, it was MP Namal Rajapaksa and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who coordinated the work in the Borella electorate.
A senior minister speaking on the cold war brewing among the Rajapaksa brothers said there was no truth in the claim of clashes between the Rajapaksas.
He said that it was a tactic used by the Rajapaksas to ensure that party members who are displeased with the president and the Defence Secretary remain within the government by joining Basil Rajapaksa without defecting. He added that the senior SLFP ministers did not fall for this tactic.
Thilanga’s and Gota’s supporters clash
Tuesday, 08 May 2012
Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s supporter, MP Thilanga Sumathipala has clashed with Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapksa’s security personnel while planning the government’s May Day rally.
The organizing work of the UPFA May Day procession was assigned to one of the Defence Secretary’s lackeys and a member of the Youth Corp, Colonel Dharshana Ratnayake (0773265150).
Sunil Dissanayake who is under him had been in-charge of the vehicle with loudspeakers that travel at the forefront of the procession and the entire formation of the procession was under Dharshana Ratnayake. Over 200 military personnel in civvies were assigned to help him with the task.
In this backdrop, MP Thilanga Sumathipala had issued several directives on forming the May Day procession, but Ratnayake had ignored them.
Sumathipala had to therefore sit silently on the stage at Campbell Park in Borella where the procession was being formed.
Attorney Sumith Wijesinghe (0718880888), Ranjith Hettiarachchi (0777780083), Upali Gamage (0773679343) and Keerthi Dissanayake (0714098217) were also assigned to assist Ratnayake.
