The Hon. D.V. Chanaka

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, many today spoke about “perks”—those misused before and those used now. Yesterday, Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, our Chief Opposition Whip, said three main buildings in Colombo are used by Mahinda Rajapaksa. My first question: which “main buildings” are these? Does that include his Wijerama residence? I thought “main buildings” meant the Presidential Secretariat, President’s House, the Speaker’s Residence, or Temple Trees—official places used by the incumbent, not a private residence.

¶ 02 He also said the “Shravasti” building belongs to Parliament, implying Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security is stationed there. I checked: the current Prime Minister’s team has been using Shravasti for the past three months. Are they Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security? If Hon. Bimal were here, he could answer. Do not attribute the building captured by the PM’s team to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s account.

¶ 03 The President told his supporters that Mahinda Rajapaksa is being charged Rs. 4.5 million rent; either pay or vacate. Government leaders and the Chief Opposition Whip also said so. Enough talk—if the rent is Rs. 4.5 million, send the bill to Mahinda Rajapaksa; then he will decide to stay or leave. Saying it on stage or in Parliament is useless; send the invoice.

¶ 04 The real issue is a new circular signed by the President increasing perks for Ministers and State Ministers. Previously, a former Cabinet Minister had three vehicles and five for staff—eight total; a State Minister had seven or eight. There were 20 Ministers excluding the President and PM.