Bandu playing pandu after stadium blunder
Higher Education Minister and Co- Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena is no stranger to embarrassing himself and the Government he represents.
As a regular spokesman of economic matters and a senior minister of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government, he once infamously claimed that a person could live comfortably on Rs. 2,500 a month; a comment which people still negatively associate with him to this day.
Yet, his tenure in the present interim Government has seen him in similar situations within a short span of time. As Co- Cabinet Spokesman, he recently downplayed the threat posed by COVID-19 in holding parliamentary elections, claiming that elections were held in the past even when dengue was killing 500-600 people a year.
He also came under severe criticism for allegedly organising a musical show in Homagama while a curfew was in effect, evidently to boost the spirits of the people, though the tri forces and police were anyway conducting musical events in locked down neighbourhoods.
The latest such blunder has been arguably his biggest by far. He has now come under fire from even his own Government colleagues over the fiasco involving the proposed international cricket stadium to be built in Mr Gunawardena's home electorate of Homagama.
The topic came to the fore when the minister conducted an inspection visit at the location of the proposed ground, described as the biggest international cricket stadium in the country
Mr Gunawardena had earlier indicated that it was his intention to make Homagama the best electorate in the country. The proposed stadium in Homagama was seen as being part of that vision and a 26-acre plot of land from the area was to be given to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for the 60,000 seat stadium's construction.
As news of the construction of the proposed stadium came immediately under attack from prominent cricketers, Mr. Gunawardene’s coalition colleagues who had also made public statements on the matter sold him down the river saying false facts had been given to them by Mr. Gunawardene. One of them was ex MP Udaya Gammanpilla.
Mr Gunawardena dodged the issue when journalists questioned him at this week's Cabinet media briefing about Mr Gammanpila's claim, only stating that he did not give out wrong information and pledging to organise a media briefing for journalists with officials of SLC to clear up the matter.