President & Kasippu Wasantha lock horns

 Wednesday, 18 December 2013

A clash has erupted between president Mahinda Rajapaksa and Matale district MP, deputy minister Lakshman Wasantha Perera, who is second only to minister Johnston Fernando in helping the Rajapaksa family to earn their ‘monthly earnings’, according to Temple Trees sources.

Better known among his parliamentary colleagues as ‘Kasippu Wasantha’, lawyer Lakshman Wasantha Perera has liquor distilling as his main income. The Hingurana Sugar factory and several other distilleries owned by him manufacture substandard liquor. During a raid by the Customs in Biyagama last year, it was revealed he was using formaline, urea and other hazardous raw materials for liquor manufacturing.

However, the Customs investigations were stopped and the members of the raiding party suspended on the orders of the president. A leading shareholder of Hingurana Sugar factory is Lekshika Fernando, a niece of the president and the wife of Shashindra Rajapaksa, Kataragama Devale Basnayake Nilame, who is the son of Chamal Rajapaksa.

The clash between the president and Lakshman Wasantha Perera is due to the MP not giving the president his ‘share.’ The president’s anger has increased as the MP has confined only to words a promise to MP Namal Rajapaksa’s ‘Tharunyata Hetak’ to build 600 swimming pools across the country.

Deciding to take some action, the president has spoken to his news planter, Ranjith Ananda Jayasinghe of ‘Lankadeepa’ and instructed him to attack ‘Kasippu Wasantha.’ As a result, the journalist planted a lead news article in last Sunday’s issue of the newspaper under the heading ‘2 politicians behind ethanol racket.’

Since he had to spent millions on his son’s electioneering for the north western provincial council polls recently, minister Johnston Fernando too, has failed to give the president his ‘share’ and deputy minister Lakshman Wasantha Perera having followed suit, the president’s monthly income has decreased and his anger increased.

The ‘Lankadeepa’ article has left both Johnston Fernando and Lakshman Wasantha Perera quite concerned and they have tasked their media secretaries with issuing explanatory media statements. A go-between of the president has spoken to both politicians and advised them to give the president his ‘share’ and get the matter settled before it gets too far, instead of making matters worse by issuing media statements. Sources at ‘Lankadeepa’ say Ranjith Ananda Jayasinghe is all ready, with Christmas nearing, to plant his next article for which he is expecting responses from the two politicians.