Wijeyadasa goes to court against the Hambantota Port lease

Colombo (News 1st): The Supreme Court ordered the case filed against the leasing of the Hambantota Port and the adjacent swathes of land to the Chinese on a 99-year lease, to be taken up for consideration on the 30th of this month. The petition was filed by former Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha. The petition was taken up for hearing today before a bench comprising of Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, P. Padman Surasena and Gamini Amarasekera. Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha requested the court's permission to amend the petition as the Ministers and Secretaries to the relevant Ministries had been changed. Speaking to the media Attorney-at-law Sampath Perera said:

"This tax concession has been given illegally, we have challenged that and filed this petition. Our only objective is to take action against this illegal tax concession that was given to China and get the tax that should be rightfully charged by the government. This case was taken up for consideration today, but since the Cabinet of Ministers had changed and the petition had to be amended, submissions on the petition will be made in court on the 30th of this month. That is the date given to us by the court."