Reason for Basil’s fleeing to US revealed!

 Friday, 22 November 2013 

The reason for economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa suddenly going overseas just days before the CHOGM and amidst the heightened controversy regarding casinos, one of his subjects, has now been revealed. Although his staff says the minister had gone to the US for a medical test, the main reason is a dispute he is having with the president’s eldest son MP Namal Rajapaksa.

The dispute had arisen after a large cutout of minister Basil Rajapaksa erected on the Colombo-Katunayake expressway had been removed on the orders of MP Namal Rajapaksa. Prior to the opening of the expressway, the president had taken a walk along the road and MP Namal Rajapaksa had noticed that the cutout of minister Basil Rajapaksa was bigger than the cutout of the president. MP Namal Rajapaksa had ordeed the presidential security division personnel to remove minister Basil Rajapaksa’s cutout before he makes the return journey. This shows the extent of the internal struggle for power in the Rajapaksa family.

In addition, minister Basil Rajapaksa has told the president that his wife, attorney Pushpa Rajapaksa, should be nominated the chief ministerial candidate for the western province. However, first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa had openly shown opposition to it by removing minister Basil Rajapaksa’s cutout. Other members of the Rajapaksa family have proposed Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to be the CM candidate. But, he has turned down the offer and named his benefactor Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva in his place.

The president fears that as astrologers have warned that this internal family dispute could worsen and a key member of the family will leave him in 2014, which will be the beginning of the end of his journey, sources close to him say.