COPE: UNP MPs try their best to take Mahendra off the hook

By Saman Indrajith-October 20, 2016, 10:00 pm 

The UNP team within the Parliamentary watchdog committee COPE fought a losing battle for seven hours yesterday against the JVP and the SLFP over the report on former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran’s involvement in the treasury bond scams.

The UNPers, from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm yesterday, tried their level best to absolve Mahendran’s of wrongdoing, but failed to change the content of the COPE Chairman’s report, according to a senior COPE member.

The UNP team of MPs attacked the very foundation of the COPE report being prepared with the intention of presenting to Parliament on Oct 25. Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe ably assisted by Ajith Perera led their attack while their colleague Dr Harsha de Silva tried to bolster those arguments theoretically. They sought to justify the method Mahendran had adopted to auction the treasury bonds.

Hence, they argued, Mahendran could not be accused of any wrongdoing and held accountable for the subsequent loss.

 Arguing on those lines the UNP MPs demanded certain amendments to the report. The argument was in progress while the COPE members deliberated on the report page by page. Dr de Silva, who had been against Mahendran, chose to support his party members to get Mahendran’s name cleared from the report, according to sources.

 The senior COPE members said adding the JVP together with both Maithree and Mahinda factions of the SLFP had argued cogently and forcefully and demolished the points made by their UNP counterparts.

TNA MPs of the COPE did not attend the meeting.

The COPE is to meet against today at 9 am at the Parliament complex.