Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Cabinet spokesman, Minister Bandula Gunawardana said yesterday he would file a case in the Supreme Court challenging the economic and monetary decisions taken by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Treasury officials under the Yahapalanaya government.

“The current economic disaster faced by the Rajapaksa government is the legacy of the previous government. I expect to file a case against the actions of the Yahapalanaya government to prevent such repetition by a future government,” he said. Not only Mangala but former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe must also take much of the blame for the destruction caused to the economy and the country. All these blunders, mistakes and shortcomings have taken place under Ranil’s nose. Therefore, he is the biggest culprit of this disaster.”

The minister said Ranil, Mangala and Treasury officials have misled Parliament with incorrect financial information and hoodwinked the legislature on this matter.

“In addition to seeking legal redress at the Supreme Court, I make a request to the legislature to appoint a select committee to go into these fraudulent acts,” the minister said.

He told a media conference that the Yahapalanaya government had offered contracts to thousands of development and reconstruction projects around the country without the approval of the legislature.

If the Yahapalanaya government keen on developing the country it should have gone first to Parliament. After all this is public money. The Yahapalanaya government had not obtained parliamentary approval to allocate funds for these projects. That is why these projects have collapsed,” the minister said.

The government is following the footsteps of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by keeping public expenditure to the barest minimum. There will be no posters, cutouts, floats, tamashas, parties, new vehicles and private buildings for state institutions. (Sandun A Jayasekera)