Ministers boycott Shashindra’s swearing-in!

 

Saturday, 04 October 2014 

Senior ministers of the government have boycotted the recent swearing-in of president’s son-in-law Shashindra Rajapaksa as chief minister of the Uva provincial council. Less than 10 ministers, including Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dilan Perera, Wimal Weerawansa and Dullas Alahapperuma, were present.

Despite knowing that the president would be there, the cabinet ministers had stayed away in order to express their displeasure to the government. After the ceremony, a cabinet meeting was held, and except for Maithripala Sirisena, all the other ministers were present. As the SLFP general secretary, he should have been there at the swearing-in, but he spent the day in Polonnaruwa, even without attending the cabinet meeting.

At the ceremony, minister de Silva remarked that the government would never lose under the leadership of the president, and hearing it, the president has blinked his eyes and with an ironic smile, ridiculed him. When the other guests told him about that later, the minister said, ‘‘So, the president has correctly understood what I had said.’’