Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

SLPP wants Dilrukshi removed forthwith

- BY LAHIRU POTHMULLA

While stating that the controvers­ial tele-conversati­on of Solicitor General Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasi­nghe was only part of a bigger picture, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday called for her immediate removal pending an investigat­ion.

SLPP Chairman Professor G.L. Peiris said the Solicitor General was not the entirety of the problem, but only a small part.

“The telephone conversati­on shows the country’s legal system – which the Attorney General’s Department and others use to file cases – has been infiltrate­d by the most corrupt people. This didn’t start with Dilrukshi and will not end with her as well. She admitted to political influence of high-ups. She should reveal who they are. The most corrupt people operate and use the legal system today,” he told a news briefing held at the party head office.

Commenting on what Ms. Wickramasi­nghe said in the telephone conversati­on, Professor Peiris said she indicated she was even above Parliament.

“She said she knows both how to make the law and break the law. In our country, it is only Parliament that has the authority to implement laws. Her comments show she is superior to Parliament. A Solicitor General has to perform a wide range of serious duties including overseeing cases involving extraditio­ns. When a person of her ilk holds the post of Solicitor General, how can we place our trust in these duties? How can one ensure an accused like Arjuna Mahendran will be extradited? This is why she should be removed forthwith,” he said.

Prof. Peiris said a government of theirs would ensure legal action against all corrupt individual­s and officials including Ms. Wickramasi­nghe.

“The Avant Garde case filed by the Bribery Commission in which Ms. Wickramasi­nghe served as Director General shows the vindictive nature of the government. The Court of Appeal discharged Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other suspects from the Avant Garde case. These were attempts targeted at Mr. Rajapaksa by individual­s who cannot challenge him on a political platform,” he said.

Professor G.L. Peiris says Solicitor General was not the entirety of the problem, but only a small part of it

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