Ministers, deal strikers in London for rugby matches!

Oct 28, 2015

Several ministers of the ‘Yaya Paalana’ government are in London to watch the Rugby World Cup being hosted by the United Kingdom. They will be there for Saturday’s (31) final between New Zealand and Australia.

They include telecommunications minister Harin Fernando, international trade minister Malik Samarawickrama and state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardena. Without their knowledge, several notorious deal strikers in Sri Lanka have booked rooms in the same hotels being occupied by these ministers. Tickets for the final are being sold at prices between 1,500 pound sterling and 3,000 pound sterling. That is approximately 600,000 Sri Lankan rupees. These deal strikers are willingly buying tickets for family members of the ministers, say reliable sources.

Their main target is telecommunications and digital infrastructure minister Harin Fernando. Sales representatives of several telecommunication companies and their brokers have become a big headache for him, say sources close to him. Foremost among them is Lyca Mobile owner Subhaskaran Alliraja and his brokers.

Alliraja had struck many a deal with the Rajapaksa regime. He is good at netting within a very short time anyone gaining power. Whenever Namal and other Rajapaksas visited London, it was Alliraja who had provided them all the facilities. After striking deals with the Rajapaksa regime, he became close to president’s son Daham Sirisena as soon as the ‘Yaha Paalana’ regime came to power. However, the president acted immediately and got his son back home. Without stopping there, Alliraja then tried to get close to former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. She was the chief guest at the opening of a housing project in Vavuniya carried out by him recently.

Some time ago, Britain’s BuzzFeed UK, involved in investigative journalism, made a detailed revelation about Alliraja. In response, he has asked from the British media, “If I am a cheat, will a person like former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga, who abhors corruption, come to open my project?” That is how Alliraja sold Chandrika without her knowing it. Also present at the opening of the project were agriculture minister Duminda Dissanayake and port and shipping minister Arjuna Ranatunga.

Meanwhile, finance minister Ravi Karunanayake is in London to take part in a programme being organized by the London and Colombo stock exchanges tomorrow (29). It will take place at Hotel Savoy in London.