"A hero never pillages the people" : Ranjan Ramanayake

COLOMBO (News1st): Opposition parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake in a hard-hitting parliamentary address has denounced politicians who loot the state coffers. "A hero never pillages the people," the Samagi Jana Balawegaya parliamentarian said during a debate on the 2021 budget in Parliament on Monday. Ramanayake queried on the progress of the investigations into claims made by minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage on the "top-ten" crimes involving the previous government. "I am on the side of those involved in catching culprits. But what has happened to the people involved in the so-called top ten crimes?" the parliamentarian queried. He claimed that the current government has set-up a presidential commission to probe incidents of political victimization to favour their claims. Ramanayake recalled that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa had threatened to move court against the New York Times newspaper over a report involving their administration. The news report had claimed that the Rajapaksa administration had received funding from China for an election campaign. "The international newspaper is waiting for the case. Why aren’t they moving court?" the Samagi Jana Balawegaya parliamentarian questioned. "They won’t do that because neither the Chinese who gave the money nor the person who solicited the funds will provide details on that."