PM's office issued release to exact revenge
PM's office issued release to exact revenge
By Gihan Nicholas- December 12, 2013
Keerthi Sri Weerasinghe, former Coordinating Secretary to Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, who recently resigned over his alleged involvement in a case where a shipment of concealed heroin had been imported to the country, said the release issued by the Prime Minister's office on Wednesday (11) stating that he had been removed from his post, was done to exact revenge.
Expressing his views to Ceylon Today, Weerasinghe said the release bearing the signature of Jayasuriya Udukumbura, who serves as the Media Secretary...
.to the Premier, was issued due to a personnel rift, and with the intention of tarnishing his reputation.
The release stated that Keerthi Sri Weerasinghe was in fact a Secretary at the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and not a Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office.
However, Weerasinghe had acted as a Coordinating Secretary of the Prime Minister of his private staff.
"I submitted my resignation to the Prime Minister on 9 December. I was told by the Prime Minister that I would be reinstated as soon as the investigation into this incident concludes. However, a release was issued by Udukumbura yesterday, who is the Media Secretary to the Prime Minister at the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs, stating that I had been relieved from all the posts held by me at the Ministry of Buddha Sasana. This was solely done due to a personal grudge that this individual had harboured towards me. There is no logic in issuing a release as I had already tendered my resignation," Weeresinghe said.
He also told Ceylon Today that Udukumbura had been severely reprimanded by Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne, for issuing the release.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Udukumbura defended his decision in sending the media release stating that he, in his capacity as Media Coordinator, took it upon himself to issue the media release as he had deemed that it was his duty to do so.
"As the Media Secretary to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Buddha Sasana, I thought it was my duty to demystify this situation. Hence, I issued the release," he said.
Weerasinghe, meanwhile, said he had issued the controversial letter to Tharanga Vitachchi, the Gampola UPFA Town Councillor, who had requested it with the pure intention of assisting a fellow party member.
"I issued the letter to Tharanga Vitachchi as he requested the same as a favour. It is our duty to help each other as members of the same Party. The Prime Minister, as well as Tharanga Vitachchi and I, were all duped by the Pakistani businessman. We are in no way involved in this. The Prime Minister is a good Buddhist. He would never do such things," Weerasinghe added.
Meanwhile, Gampola UPFA Town Councillor, Tharanga Vitachchi, when contacted reiterated the sentiments of Weerasinghe, stating that they had been deceived by the Pakistani businessman who he had introduced to Weerasinghe while they were in Kuwait.
However, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a main constituent of the government, had demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, while the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), is seeking a special parliamentary debate in this regard.
