PROVINCIAL COUNCILOR AMONG 5 HELD FOR ASSAULT
December 2, 2013 A complaint had been lodged with Gokarella Police accusing five persons including the Provincial Councilor of assaulting Udagedara Saman Bandara and two others.
The suspects were arrested today and produced before the Kurunegala Magistrate, who ordered that they be remanded till December 05.
Gota makes quiet visit to India
- Monday, 02 December 2013
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has made a quiet visit to neighbouring India to meet with several members of the Indian government.
The New Indian Express has reported that Rajapaksa’s extremely low-profile visit has been largely kept under wraps by the two governments.
Rajapaksa has called on Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid before he left for Colombo at the end of his trip.
Rajapaksa has called on Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid before he left for Colombo at the end of his trip.
He has reportedly met with his defence ministry counterparts on Thursday.
The India media has reported that this was a significant visit, as it was the first high-level bilateral meeting following the Commonwealth Summit, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not attend due to pressure from Tamil Nadu over the lack of accountability for war crimes towards the ends of the civil war in the island nation.
As a very influential member of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is one of the key voices calling for dilution of the powers of the provincial councils, as stipulated under the Indo-Lanka accord and enacted through the 13th amendment.
According to the New Indian Express, India had managed to stave off such efforts before the commonwealth summit, but there are fears that the parliamentary select committee to look into ways to amend the constitution to dilute 13A may be revived, now that the international scrutiny has been removed.
