Casino King’s Henchmen Intimidating Me: Opposition Lawmaker Dr. Harsha de Silva
UNP MP Dr. Harsha De Silva has made an official complaint in Parliament that the associates of Australian casino mogul James Packer had been engaged in attempts to intimidate him.
Dr. Harsha de Silva
De Silva, a national list MP for the main opposition UNP has been a vocal critic of the Rajapaksa Government’s tax holiday for a massive casino project proposed at D.R. Wijewardane Mawatha in Colombo.
The UNP MP told parliament today that highlighting the Government’s controversial deals had invited threats and intimidation for opposition parliamentarians. He said that he had been intimidated recently at a television station by “henchmen of the casino king who had vested interests.”
He said the incident had taken place at a local TV station while he was waiting for a debate to start.
Full Text Of The UNP Leader’s Speech: The Depth And Trustworthiness Of Dayasiri Jayasekera
August 7, 2013 |
United National Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe today, evoked the Dhammapada to deliver a lengthy response in Parliament to a scathing statement made by departing UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera last week. In a special statement to the House, Wickremesinghe clarified that Jayasekera had been given ample chances by the UNP leadership and had in fact expressed confidence in the party leadership days before his crossover. Jayasekera had misled the House during his speech in parliament to announce his resignation on 24 July, he said. According to Wickremesinghe, Dayasiri Jayasekera had accepted the Party and its Leadership in writing on 11 July and participated in the selection of the candidates for the North Western Province on 23 July before quitting the party on 24 July. “This reflects the depth and trustworthiness of this person,” the UNP Leader said.
Following is the full text of the UNP Leader’s speech:
Hon. Speaker,
I thank you for giving me an opportunity to make a special statement in this House today.
I will start this speech with an excerpt of the first stanza in ‘Yamaka Vagga’ of Dammapada:
Manopubbangama dhamma - manosettha manomaya
Manasa che padutthena - bhasati va karoti va
Tato nam dukkamanveti - chakkamva vahato padam
It means that:
Ranil
All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner; they have mind as their chief; they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with an evil mind, dukkha or suffering follows him just as the wheel follows the hoof print of the ox that draws the cart.
Calling to the mind that noble teaching of Lord Buddha I make this statement today under Standing Orders 84 and 19.
Hon. Speaker,
At this instance a stanza in Mahavagga, Second fifty, third part of Angutthara Nikaya comes to my mind:
It mentions that, “If a questioned person conceals one talk by another talk, turns the talk to some external side or shows anger, aversion and dissatisfaction, such person is not suitable for talk”. Even then, as this House has been misled by the talk of that person, I express these views to uncover the truth.
Hon. Speaker, Read More
