Amidst the Cabinet approving an unprecedented second hike in electricity tariffs yesterday (9th January 2023) impacting on the country’s poor, information disclosed on appeals to Sri Lanka’s Right to Information Commission show huge arrears in payments on electricity bills outstanding as at 31.03.2022 by several prominent – and privileged – companies and individuals.
Requests under the Right to Information Act to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and LECO were filed by ‘Thunhela’, an organisation of monks headed by Venerable Omalpe Kassapa Thero asking for defaulters on electricity bill payments above the amounts of Rs 500,000/= . Both service providers did not agree to hand over the information until the monks filed an appeal to the Right to Information Commission.
Following summons being issued by the Commission, LECO released their annual audit reports as well as the list of customers who had defaulted on their payments as at 31st March 2022.CEB senior officials appeared at the Commission hearing on 3rd January 2023 and requested time to collect the data from branch offices. Time was granted till January 25th 2023 with the Commission not agreeing to CEB requests for extensions.
At appeal hearings before RTI Commissioners Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, Jagath Liyanar Achchi and AM Nahiya, the CEB was directed to explain its delay to answer when the information request by the monks was filed in late 2021. The CEB had first asked for time to respond but then not responded till the appeal was filed to the Commission. CEB officials were informed that this conduct violates the RTI Act.
After the hearing, Venerable Kassapa Thero told media that the RTI Act was of great value to the country by showing how service providers privileged a favored section of defaulters who, in total, owed a massive amount of Rs 4,440 million in arrears. In the LECO defaulters list seen by Colombo Telegraph, several individuals owe arrears in millions including one defaulter with an address at Ragama (Mahasen, 22+ million). Major private companies Iconic Development, Navaloka, Namdo Transport, Dialog Axiata PLC offices, Fairway, Mobitel, Tristar and some Colombo based law firms are also listed with arrears ranging from 1 to 3 million.
Hospitality ventures linked to politicians including Avenra Garden Hotel, Negombo (arrears of 21.5+ million) have majorly outstanding bill payments as at the named date.
Both information requests had asked for details of politicians who had defaulted on their electricity bills but LECO and CEB maintained that they did not compile lists of politicians owing arrears but instead had general lists of individuals and companies.
Details of CEB defaulters are due to be handed over to the RTI Commission on January 25th 2022.
Ajith / January 10, 2023
As long as SLPP,SLFP, UNP and SJB in power it is impossible to find the truth or reduce the corruption. People have to live with it unless they come to streets to demand the truth.
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Mahila / January 11, 2023
Ajith,
Else must VOTE OUT OF POWER all parties in Parliament – Lock, Stock and Barrell
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old codger / January 11, 2023
It would seem that the mysterious Mahasen of Ragama with 22 million in arrears is the SriLanka Navy base in Welisara.
Is that surprising? Just try disconnecting them.
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Mahila / January 12, 2023
All of them would be rioting on the road!!!????????????
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Human Touch / January 11, 2023
NPP / JVP are part and parcel of the political mafia.
If they were any different the rest would have been scared to go to this extent to violate the laws and regulations of the land.
For every big person who has refused to pay electricity bills, CEB will calculate and increase the rates, so the common man will carry the burden.
That is what the government is doing too. We bare the cost of bogus loans, all the stupid mistakes made by the leaders and we continue to support their luxury lifestyles.
The worst thing is that there are people who are still blindly following the bloody bastard Mara and his band of criminals.
Sri lanka has become such a sad story.
I blame the public for much of this rubbish. We don’t learn from our mistakes.
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Lasantha Pethiyagoda / January 10, 2023
Since these utility companies’ higher executives are hand in glove with politicians (many being promoted for loyalty to politicians) they will try to hide these records or alter them so that these major crooks don’t get caught. This is a rotten system that can only be changed if there is a popular revolution. At least for the sake of future generations.
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Simon / January 11, 2023
Lasantha Pethiyagoda: The best protest is to stop the payment by all consumers until those outstanding bills are settled by the VVIPs and VIPs.
This type of “Disobedience” will communicate better disapproval of the people to the Government and its machinery.
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leelagemalli / January 10, 2023
All this did not come overnight. They elected, they chose, they lived with it for 15 years.
The people of a country should always raise their voice. It should be a live process. Politicians are the mirror of society. No passive society achieved its goals. I think we should not feel sorry for our people. They are always like slaves. How many people are coming forward to speak today? Each attacks the other. Social media brings drugs or similar social media to Sri Lanka. They are not using it for the development of the youth and their future.
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Experts should adjust the nation and society according to world standards. Their lethargy and silence resemble the movements of Amazonian sloths.
Although local universities produced 25,000 or more graduates, society was not driven by them and their knowledge. How can a society lag behind the pace of today’s revolutionary information technology? If neighboring countries can set an example, why and what have we been left in the frying pan? Our soul….Sinhala-Buddhist, Sinhalaism is infected with Rajapaksa virus…so called Hela values….truth is all fake, not just a copy of materialism but fiction style lie to mislead the nation.
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tbc
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leelagemalli / January 10, 2023
cont.
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People don’t want to do anything, their apathy and indifference has allowed criminals to abuse them for the past 15 years. You can check it by yourself, how many of them are sitting like deaf before ” teledrama series every evening”. Is that very different from ” consumption of ICE drug” ?Today, lanken society is like a tall tree bound with parasites of anomalous nature.
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All this did not emerge overnight. Media mafia networks were introduced by Rajapakse criminals giving them free laptops on the cost of tax payers funds and more frequencies to broadcast/telecast in their favor rather than being part of the public.
Oxford educated GLP to Harvard educated Malin Senevirantha were easily tamed by Rajapakshe-decoction for 15 years. Cheap artists became the drummers of Rajapakse-criminal politics.People noticed the drums sound, but never worried where it is coming from. They never check about the purpose of the sounds.
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tbc
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leelagemalli / January 10, 2023
cont.
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Even if these people lose good arguments, they are always like ones marched after “MR Saranang Gatchami”. MR could learn it from Bangladesh PM Dr. Hasina, but Mara behaved like a dope man at the expense of the poor. He missed the opportunity more times than any other leader. Divided for various reasons (outsiders have no clue why), this nation did not get a chance to act to bring about proper legal reforms, but the one who got the chance behaved like an ultra- fool.
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The best example about the people, there are no lawyers to protect YOUTUBER Sepal, who is being arrested by lanken police on the order of Mahanayakas, …… this man Sepal was the person to have opened the eyes of the people during last 2 years. He is not perfectionist, but many terms ….. revealed by him woke up the masses from their long slumber.
Yellow Pet Buddhism, Yellow Pet crimes, and snd… revealed to the public by SEPAL-like handful of youtubers.
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Mahila / January 10, 2023
(Part II)
We may be “DOWN AND OUT – BANKRUPT AT THIS MOMENT – BUT SURE TO RISE UP”!!!
Will soon rule the world, whatever the neighbouring states may have achieved now, we are confident to borrow ANOTHER USD 5 Billion from these neighbours and overtake them soon!!??
We are fighters of unmatched historical record, losing to only the British in 1815 and memory strikes back to the Chinese warrior before mid-14th century!!?? Can’t CON our way out, stone inscription exist in Chinese, Prakrit and Tamil Languages in Galle, pronouncing this fact, from where they took our King captive to China!!!??
Unless we find a Local Government Mayoral guy in Galle city, with the similarly aligned mentality as in the Yapahuwa Kingdom of yore, to carry out the “MERCIFUL DEED’ to change the proud history of Mother Lanka!!??
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Mahila / January 14, 2023
LM,
“But Mara behaved like a dope man at the expense of the poor”
May have, because of the fact he was under the spell of Eliyantha White (EW)!!
EW was the Chief medical Officer of the 1st citizen, as against other MBBS qualified, being there in abundance!!??
God only knows what spell that was!!???
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leelagemalli / January 15, 2023
Mahila,
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How stupid must MaRa be?
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1) Eliantha White is an illiterate man, formerly known as a singer, who was the personal physician of the former president He was not yet 48 but succumbed to COVID 19. ….
srilankens should finally kick out “witchcraft and astrology”.
I can’t understand how the bugger doctor got involved with the really good doctors
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T2ZfIsp5Ew
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2) That royal astrologer is also another illiterate man as if he doesn’t know what he is talking about… These people must be eating “punnakku”. All these people are close men of MARA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMpW3M_ZUFE
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3) The other person who made Mara more happy was Keerthi Dissanayake aka “Huggedy Man” who was later caught by the police for cheating his customers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcR2EUAj8OE
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4) The Galthanna Kapuwa got untouchably wealthy – thanks to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s blatant lies. Not only that family but the entire society was destroyed by spreading “witchcraft” under Mahinda’s brutal politics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvcTtD2Nl0k
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Mahila / January 10, 2023
(Part I)
LM,
“IF NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES CAN SET AN EXAMPLE, WHY AND WHAT HAVE WE BEEN LEFT IN THE FRYING PAN? Our soul….Sinhala-Buddhist (SB), “Sinhalaism” is infected with Rajapaksa virus…so called Hela values….truth is all fake, not just a copy of materialism but fiction style lie to mislead the nation”
SB’s far superior to ‘THOSE NATIVES’ in neighbouring territories, “Toilet Nadu”, Dance famous Karnataka, or Bangla with a METRO to boast are new found ‘fancies’, and may not last the “test of time”!!!
SB’s are cultured people, recorded CIVILISATION history of 2600+ years to BOOT & BOAST!!???
Please don’t mistake us SB’s for “Summa Buggers”!!??
Proud, we SB’s are Sinhalese Buddhists, proud heritage of Aryan blood, Sinha lineage – unique as in this world – as a result of primarily the cohabitation of “KING OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM”, the LION AND HUMAN BEING, WITH PRINCELY HUMAN LINEAGE OF BHARATH”, though inherently we despise from the neighbourly Bharath!!?? Why??? That’s the way of SB thinking process – Elitist!!?
Never ever happened in the history of this world elsewhere!!!We are UNIQUE race and unmatched!??
(TBC)
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old codger / January 11, 2023
LM,
“Although local universities produced 25,000 or more graduates, society was not driven by them and their knowledge. How can a society lag behind the pace of today’s revolutionary information technology?”
I must correct you. These grads didn’t study information technology. Many or most of them specialised in stupendously useless stuff like Buddhist Civilization, Political Science, or Pali grammar. Have you seen any Pali-speaking tourists recently?
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Human Touch / January 11, 2023
Old Codger
Going to a university is not just for the purpose of learning subject matter.
University education goes hand in hand with enhancing a persons ability to think, his or her personality and generally elevates a graduate to a higher level of reasoning and widens one’s perspective.
It is sad that some Sri Lankan graduates graduate with a narrower mindset than what they entered with the university with. Such is life. The results are evident and obvious.
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leelagemalli / January 12, 2023
“Have you seen any Pali-speaking tourists recently?”
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I don’t think even the monks who graduated from Pali University have studied Pali and Sanskrit subjects well. Many of them are clearly proficient in “Kunuharupa – Sinhala vulgar language”. Asking me to give them “smart phones” next time I travel to the country…….eyebrows up….
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lankan100 / January 10, 2023
Hello Srilankans. Iam in US and received energy bill $325 this month( starting 2023). It used to be 125 in Winter and may be about $70 during summer Eventhough people in Neighborhood watch app complain, they could do nothing. I heard smiliar cry in Europe.
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cugan / January 10, 2023
Why blame politicians they voted for arrack rice parcels Rs5000 ,then next day kiri bath along with fire crackers….
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Get on with the life ,even we compelled to import eggs,like Saudis
Plenty of water though
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Human Touch / January 11, 2023
What Mara and co have done to our country is worst than what a war would have done.
This kind of destruction is on the inside like AIDS.
He and his family should never be forgiven.
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leelagemalli / January 11, 2023
HT@
The painful truth is that even today, not even 10% of the population (not one in 10) takes it seriously and tries not to take the harm literally.
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1) MaRa and his men frequent Buddhist temples and temples of various natures and mislead them by pretending to be strong Buddhists (how mlechcha he should be?). – I know people can fool some people, but how can this man fool the very same again and again?
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Either people are eternally stupid or they never understand the truth
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2) I can’t believe my eyes, how even today, when he goes from a to b, people behave in a way that confronts the Pope? So I have no sympathy for our people now. These people (majority) are so stupid and never learn.
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3) Undoubtedly, there will be many electorates that will vote for Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in the upcoming local council elections. We have been monitoring them since 2015.
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The best example to use as the unchanged representation of our Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna supporters is that lady teacher who was once dipped in Baira Lake like a rod, however she is still – a Mahinda Rajapaksa supporter –
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davidthegood / January 11, 2023
FOR Defaulters in Unpaid Electricity Bills, cut off their electricity like what is done to all other citizens
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RBH59 / January 11, 2023
Details of CEB defaulters are due to be handed over to the RTI Commission on January 25th 2022
Why is the president punishing the public by taxing the defaulters are visible he if not brought the defaulters on notice the frauds will continue, ability to manufacture fraud now exceeds our ability to detect it due loosing of votes
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Sinhala_Man / January 11, 2023
I’m not gong to pay my electricity bills (and possibly water bills); that is a political decision. However, let me be honest enough to state that I’ve decided on that course of action because I think it safe.
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The chances of their cutting off those services are remote. If you don’t understand why I say so, please ask.
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Phone and internet data – my position is vulnerable.Yesterday I paid Rs2K for the 4G router which is in Maharagama, after it had been disconnected. Ranil can easily get these services withdrawn. But not electricity.
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We just have to get rid of the imposters who are now dominating us every way.
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Panini E.
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old codger / January 12, 2023
SM,
“Yesterday I paid Rs2K for the 4G router which is in Maharagama, after it had been disconnected. Ranil can easily get these services withdrawn”
What has Ranil got to do with 4G routers? This is 2023.
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leelagemalli / January 12, 2023
OC,
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Attacks on RW are becoming more by hour. They do not say a single word to Gota and the all-poisonous man Mara (the bloodsucker of the race). That is the nature of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. They are crying babies. This goes back to the era when the Premadasa government cracked down on the JVP in 1989. If the JVPs are smart, that should be the way to handle this? AKD is good on the stage, but Nalin Hewage or Saman Vidyaratne ? They should stop spreading ” hate speech on the stage”.
Everyone with common sense knows that people and any elected government have no better option than donation. The South Koreans explained how much they had sacrificed.
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tbc
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leelagemalli / January 12, 2023
cont.
The austerity plans are almost the beginning of the austerity plans imposed on Greece 8 years ago.
However, this is Sri Lanka where any simple Simon tries to be a professional. Today’s Beachboys are said to be violent in Ella area and being unable to break the law. They even harm foreigners.Can you imagine ?
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In this situation, the slogan of JVP today is to drive out everyone including Ranil and seize power. I agree, do they have a plan?
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But there is no plan on how to face the ever-increasing variety of problems.
I respect NPP more but JVP are young politicians.They are good at crying. Crying babies make the whole environment unpleasant. Enough is enough. Grow up !
Dr. H.W.sounds mature, she though started politics not too long ago.
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hanchopancha / January 12, 2023
LM. You need to wake up. RW is the wet nurse of the Rajapakshe clan. He too should be found guilty of the Easter Sunday carnage. As the PM at the time or anytime, it is incumbent of the person holding a very crucial position to be properly briefed and kept fully aware of National Security. When it comes to National Security, the PM’s position and his active partnership is indispensable. He is guilty of dereliction of duty. Thanks to MS he was the President then and thanks to GR he is the prsesident.
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leelagemalli / January 12, 2023
HP,
Thank you, but I am always awake, and if I may direct your attention back to the facts:
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Maddened by the October 2018 coup (the 52-day coup), Sirisena did not convene Security Council sessions as before. And then the Prime Minister (now the President) was not invited to the meetings as due, if any of them were called… Crazy Sirisena has no right to do that, however, in a country where everything is “upside down”, what is impossible ?
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The Deputy Minister of Defence (Ruwan W) had also added that to the evidence, he was not invited to any meetings. These are all facts – we need no more counterarguments.
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Crazy Sirisena can share blatant lies to srilanken media but not to us. He had left the country for Spore and Thailand without informing the Deputy Minister to act in his absence.
This is absolutely beyond all acceptance. If this happened to the Americans, (assume in CA) Sorisena would have been beheaded. No escape would be possible.
:
What I have added above has been well observed by the whole world including the normal weather countries. If you want more, please check will you the archive.
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Sinhala_Man / January 13, 2023
As I understand it, SLT is part-owned by the government. Even if not, this “money crisis” is getting so serious for citizens that they have to save every rupee that they can. (The word that would have come automatically into that previous sentence is “cent”, but so meaningless has that denomination become that I left it out.)
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oc; it is quite possible that my reasoning here is wrong!
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Let’s forget that for the moment. LM suddenly wants me to talk about the Rajapaksa and JVP killings 35 years ago. If I have at any stage said they were good, then he’s be making a point. Given his reasoning, why not insist that every commenter begins with references to how evil entered the World with Adam and Eve? When the Rajapaksas were the most important target for us, I aimed at them. Now please don’t talk ever about my not recognising their crimes. I’ll have to ignore such requests from now on.
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If not how can we find time to talk about the major evils of today? As for the JVP, you can’t get sense out of LM. You ask him to listen for two minutes in a video, he refuses to. I’m not white-washing any crime; only showing awareness of complexities.
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Panini
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old codger / January 14, 2023
SM,
“As I understand it, SLT is part-owned by the government”
You may not be aware of the fact, but private service providers are significantly cheaper than SLT. SLT claims to be the “National telecom provider”, but it is 49% owned by Maxxis of Malaysia. The ONLY 100% locally owned provider is Lanka Bell.
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hanchopancha / January 12, 2023
Correction: Thanks to MS he was the PM then and thanks to GR he is the President now exploiting an aping gap in the law.
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Sinhala_Man / January 13, 2023
In this matter, hanchopancha talks sense; not in others!
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leelagemalli / January 13, 2023
1/
Hello Hello, this is not the first time, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has given a decision regarding Sorisena’s presidential responses. … Remember the story below. Our people are heartless people….don’t care too much…they always act like “cattle – cattle in a farm”. not insulting to the cattle.
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If a person stands on his or her little head, he or she will see everything “upside down.” That is what I see from some of the people commenting on this forum.
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The JVP has a strong bias in their analysis of the “Easter Sunday disaster”. Likewise they are partial to the so called “bond scam”….still no answer to my repeated question why Singapore is still silent on this “bond scam” ?????? Aioooooooooooo… EU considers Singapore as a country bound by strict laws in this world. Strict rules were passed respecting them without bias…….JVP should know that very well.
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tbc
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leelagemalli / January 13, 2023
2/
In today’s context, people have forgotten how Sorisena violated all basic constitutional rules as a head of state.
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The whole world laughed at him, but the people supported his decision to make Mahinda the Prime Minister. I want Mahinda Rajapaksa to be punished. He is the root cause of the Sorisena s unprecedented behaviour.
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This is how the people of Sri Lanka acted for that. They don’t care much about “law and order”, “guidelines”; Conditions etc- they blindly respected medamulana dogs.
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At that time, there was an opinion that psychologists were going to examine Sorisena’s head.
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And, in October 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that Sorisena had violated the constitution by appointing “Madamavulan BP” as prime minister.
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This caused great controversy in the eyes of world leaders. Then it became clear, uneducated candidates will take any decision, sometimes even the youth will not.
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After the 2018-October coup, SORIYSENA did not allow the prime minister or anyone else to work normally.
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All these should be considered while punishing them. Sorisena does not understand the seriousness of the issues because he was destroyed by Rajapakse gang (United Opposition). But RAJAPAKSHEs were still respected by punnakku eating majority……
reemmber ?
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