GOVT. TO PROSECUTE POLITICIANS of previous regime

who failed to return official vehicles

The government would start rounding up the politicians of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime who failed to return the official vehicles provided to them while holding their portfolios from next week and prosecute them, Media and Parliamentary Development Minister Gayantha Karunatilaka said yesterday.

Addressing the weekly Cabinet news briefing, Minister Karunatilaka stated that a large number of Parliamentarians and Ministers of the previous regime were still using luxury State vehicles despite repeated requests from the government to return them.

“There are several Ministers and MPs who have been issued with government vehicles during the past regime. They must immediately return those vehicles to the government. If not, the government would instruct law-enforcement authorities to apprehend the

There are several Ministers and MPs who have been issued with government vehicles during the past regime

illegally used vehicles and prosecute those who still use them. The raids will commence from next week onwards,” the Minister said.

Responding to a journalist who requested to disclose the names of politicians who use State vehicles illegally, Minister Karunatilaka said “You can identify them when arrested.”

Minister Karunatilaka added that President Maithripala Sirisena had given 126 vehicles that belonged to the Presidential Secretariat fleet of vehicles to various State institutions, and saved Rs. 126 million worth of fuel for the Presidential Secretariat.

Commenting on the Opposition campaign against the UNHRC recommendations, Minister Karunatilaka pointed out that bankrupt Opposition members were acting like real traitors of the country spreading false and baseless propaganda on the issue. “Members of the constituent partners of the UPFAwho were elected to Parliament on the backing of the SLFP have made SLFP members sit on the grass and lectured them on the Geneva issue, but they have not even studied or read the UNHRC report, Paranagama commission report or even the Udalagama Committee report. They talk of the so called hybrid court, but the UNHRC report had clearly stated that the domestic mechanism to probe alleged incidents of International Humanitarian Law would be set up under Sri Lanka’s judicial system and that the UN would not pressure Sri Lanka on how it would be set up,” the Minister stressed.

Minister Karunatilaka said the Opposition had been scared on the allegations levelled against certain people, but the government would never do anything to betray a single Sri Lankan.