The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, our Ministry’s Rubber Control (Amendment) Bill is also being debated today. While I was briefly away, two Opposition MPs made misleading statements. I must clarify.

¶ 02 The Chairman of the Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) tendered his resignation recently citing personal reasons making it difficult to continue. We accepted his request and appointed a new Chairman.

¶ 03 There were claims that the Secretary exerted pressure on the Chairman at the Minister’s behest to allocate state lands to relatives and that is why he left. That is false. Jayanta Nilakaratne, the outgoing Chairman, is a respected lawyer who performed well, acted against fraud and corruption, and resigned for personal reasons. There was no undue influence, nor did we pressure to allocate land to our associates. If anyone alleges otherwise, let them come forward and prove it. We know some in the Opposition shout baselessly to mislead the House and the country for media theatrics. The JEDB has been a corrupt institution for long; when we expose corruption and act, some get agitated. We are ready to reveal to Parliament and the country how public estate lands were captured by politicians and powerful persons, and will take action regardless of who was Chairman during our tenure. Thank you.