I HAVE NO CONNECTION WITH MAHENDRAN

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday rejected claims that he met with former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran in Singapore.

In response to a question raised by JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, he told Parliament that he has had no connection with Mahendran after he left for Singapore.

MP Dissanayake asked whether the Prime Minister had met Mr Mahendran in Singapore as reported in media and asked whether he did not have a personal responsibility to bring Mahendran back to Sri Lanka as he was PM’S confidante and the one who recommended him for the Central Bank Governor’s Post.

“He can personally mediate to bring Mahendran back to Sri Lanka as he was his close confidante without seeking Interpol assistance or repatriation laws,” the MP said.the PM said the Government had taken every step to bring Mahendran back to Sri Lanka and asked the MP to complain if the Government had neglected the investigation.

“We have allowed the Attorney General and the Police to carry out their investigations independently,” he said.

UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told a news briefing that arrangements were made to hold the 72nd Anniversary of the UNP at Sirikotha, the UNP headquarters at 9.30 a.m. under the patronage of UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

All UNP Ministers and Parliamentarians and other senior UNP regional leaders across the country are expected to participate at the event, which will be celebrated in a grand scale.

“The UNP being a party, has rendered its service to the people on numerous occasions. It is a party that always stands with the people despite whatever the circumstances may be,” the MP Kariyawasam said.

“The UNP has had its ups and downs. However, it had persevered irrespective of successes and failures. Although we have been unable to be elected to office since 1994, we are confident that we would be able to form a united UNP Government by means of the forthcoming Presidential Election,” he added.