Pinning all blame on Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, the Joint Opposition (JO) yesterday claimed that the public had lost faith in the UNP-led Government due to the short-sighted decisions of the Minister, and called on the President to take over the lotteries board. 

“The actions of the former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran destroyed the public’s faith in the country’s premier institution. The Colombo Stock Exchange has lost its credibility, leading foreign investors to take their investments out of Sri Lanka. The claims by the Finance Minister about Rs. 5,000 notes have led to a loss of faith in the country’s currency,” stated JO MP Bandula Gunawardane. 

Gunawardane also admitted that their attempt to bring in a no confidence motion did not deliver any results either, claiming that an “artificial majority” in Parliament voted to defeat the motion. 

Slamming the management of Perpetual Treasuries, Gunawardane said that the company was now moving to take legal action against the whistleblowers in the Central Bank, officials who he said were instrumental in exposing the controversial Treasury bond transaction. Gunawardane also demanded that President Maithripala Sirisena take over the National Lotteries Board (NLB) in order to mend the broken trust in the local lotteries sector.

Gunawardane said that due to the Finance Ministry’s immediate decision to increase the lottery ticket price from Rs. 20 to Rs. 30, sales of lottery tickets had declined even after President Sirisena directed the lotteries board to bring the price back to Rs. 20.

“People have trusted the lotteries board for ages, but because of the move to increase the sales price of lottery tickets and the price jugglery that has happened the public has lost faith in the NLB,” he said. 

Presenting three different Govisetha lottery tickets issued on the same day, Gunawardane claimed that the same lottery ticket had been printed under three separate price categories.

“I have three Govisetha lotteries issued for the raffle draw on 4 February and one lottery ticket said the price is Rs. 20 and one said the price is Rs. 30. The best part is that the third lottery ticket did not have a mentioned price,” he said. 

 “We are wondering how three lottery tickets issued for the same day have three separate prices. This indicates how badly the Government has fared.”

JO demands opinion of Attorney General over appointment of new High Court Judge 

Joint Opposition member Prof. G.L Peiris yesterday demanded that the Attorney General reveal his stance on the recent appointment of a High Court Judge which was criticised by the Judicial Service Association.  

Prof. Peiris said that the Judicial Service Association has claimed that President Maithripala Sirisena has given a lawyer a direct appointment as a High Court Judge, which was a violation of the Constitution and judicial service tradition. 

Prof. Peiris said on 1 February that Attorney Ramanathan Kannan was appointed as the new High Court Judge without considering the opinion of the Judicial Service Association. 

“Executive committee members of the Judicial Service Association met the Chief Justice on the same day that Kannan was sworn in as a High Court Judge to verify the reasons behind the appointment and to convey the concerns of the judicial officers. At the meeting, the Chief Justice had informed them that the appointment was made on a directive issued by the President following a request made by the Bar Association Sri Lanka (BASL),” he said. 

However, he revealed that the Judicial Service Association had said its executive committee came to learn that neither the Bar Council nor the BASL has made such a decision to recommend Kannan for the position. Prof. Peiris further said that soon after the appointment Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had stated that a major political party was willing to appoint Kannan as the High Court Judge for their own interests.

“That statement is a controversial one and it breaks the faith the public has in the local judicial system. Therefore the Minister should reveal the truth behind his remarks to the public,” he said.