The Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, the Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara said I jumped over a temple wall. That must be corrected. Some media attacked me over this; I did not respond. The incident is this: a plot of land, forcibly acquired during the Mahinda Rajapaksa era under state power on the pretext of a treasure, has long been disputed by locals. After our Government came, complaints were made. I went there; we were not allowed in, the gate was closed, civil security personnel were present, and we turned back. Thereafter many, including some monks, provided information. I have requested a CID investigation, and a report from the Divisional Secretary on ownership and acquisition. Do not bring such unfounded allegations here based on newspaper talk.

¶ 02 We will never invade Buddhist or other religious sites. As for salary anomalies: the governments you represented did not spend a cent to resolve two decades of teachers’ anomalies; the struggle achieved partial redress. We will resolve remaining issues going forward.