MP Kumara Welgama said in Parliament yesterday that he agrees with the accusations made by the people as he knows very well that the people are living in dire straits at the moment.
He said that it is the responsibility of the rulers to punish those who do wrong and prevent theft. He said this while joining the debate on the No-Confidence Motion against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
I also worked as a Minister. I know how to earn dollars and I also know how to hide dollars. Not only me, but all the other members know how it is hard to live in this country. Therefore, I agree with the accusations of the people. I am not pointing fingers at the Minister or officials. There is a ruler in this country. We voted for him to be the President. I voted in favour of him when Opposition members told me not to vote. This ruler should not allow anyone to steal. If someone has done something wrong, he must have taken action against him. The best example is that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa removed one Minister from his post when an Embassy filed a complaint against this Minister regarding a bribery charge. Then the President I voted for set up a Committee to investigate it. I know very well about these Committees. None of those committees are working properly. The Committee exonerated him and recommended him the same Ministerial post again under the acknowledgement of the President. This is wrong. If the President had taken measures to remove him at that time, others would also never have done such wrongs. But it didn’t happen. Because we all love dollars. This is not the UNP, SLFP and JVP. We are all thieves.So I say to the President, if you come to the polls next time, you must correct these things. You should be responsible for these things and no one else.
Irangika Range
