SLPP mourns demise of Rajapaksa loyalist State Minister Sanath Nishantha 

State Minister of Water Supply and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Puttalam District MP Sanath Nishantha Perera died in a tragic road accident which took place on the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway in the early hours of yesterday. He was 48 at the time of his death and was a father of four. His Personal Security Officer (PSO) identified as Police Constable Jayakody was also killed in the accident. 

Sources indicate that the State Minister was en route to his residence in Colombo after attending a wedding in Chilaw when the vehicle he was travelling in collided with a container transportation truck heading in the same direction at around 1.55 a.m near the R-11 post in the Kandana Police area. 

Perera and his PSO were pronounced dead upon admission to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama. His driver is currently undergoing treatment at the same hospital. The police have arrested the truck driver as part of their investigations. However, the police said initial investigations indicate negligence and reckless driving on the part of the State Minister’s driver appears to have caused the fatal accident.

Many SLPP politicians flocked to the hospital following the incident to mourn the death of their colleague, including SLPP MPs Namal Rajapaksa, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Prasanna Ranatunge, Chamal Rajapaksa and Arundika Fernando.

Minister Prasanna Ranatunga speaking to the media said the late State Minister was very loyal to SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. He added, “He was also a strength to the party and dedicated all his time to the party.”

President Ranil Wickremesinghe and SLPP Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa visited State Minister Sanath Nishantha’s residence on Wijerama Mawatha to express their condolences to his family.  However, the public’s response to his death on social media has been less than sympathetic, as he was perceived as a staunch supporter of the Rajapaksa regime and an instigator of the attack on the Galle Face Green Aragalaya protests on 9 May 2022. At the time the State Minister had claimed that he would not have hesitated to kill 50 - 100 protestors if they had attempted to harm Mahinda Rajapaksa or himself, a statement that drew the ire of the public. 

Sanath Nishantha had also met with several accidents in recent months due to reckless driving. The latest such incident was reported on 29 December near the Modara Wella Church in Marawila. 

The remains of the late State Minister were brought to Jayaratne Funeral Parlour in Borella yesterday evening to provide the public with an opportunity to pay their final respects. The cortége will leave to Puttalam this morning. 

The final rites of the late State Minister are scheduled to be performed at the Rajakadawala Catholic Cemetery in Arachchikattuwa on 28 January. 

Born on May 3, 1975, Nishantha began his political career in 1997. He was elected to the parliament from the Puttalam District in the general elections held in 2015 and 2020.

Nishantha is survived by his wife, Attorney-at-Law Chamari Perera, three daughters, and a son.

Meanwhile, Jagath Priyankara, a candidate in the 2020 Parliamentary Election, is expected to replace State Minister Sanath Nishantha in the Parliament. Jagath Priyankara is a member of the National Freedom Front (Jathika Nidahas Peramuna), headed by MP Wimal Weerawansa.