{"id":173323,"date":"2017-01-31T19:26:28","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T13:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=173323"},"modified":"2017-01-31T20:04:49","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T14:34:49","slug":"maithri-does-a-mahinda-arrests-astrologer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/maithri-does-a-mahinda-arrests-astrologer\/","title":{"rendered":"Maithri Does A Mahinda, Arrests Astrologer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking a leaf out of his former boss’ book President Maithripala’s government today\u00a0arrested an astrologer.<\/p>\n

Sailor turned astrologer, Vijitha Rohana Wijemuni<\/a> is swimming in troubled waters after the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) arrested him today on charges that he made false predictions.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wijemuni who shot to limelight in 1987 for attacking Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with a rifle butt during his visit to Sri Lanka, recently predicted the death of President Maithripala Sirisena in January 2017. In December, Wijemuni said that Sirisena will die by January 26 this year.<\/p>\n

Following the prediction, Nimal Bopage<\/a>, secretary to the ministry of media and Parliamentary affairs lodged a complaint with the police citing that there could be a plot to assassinate Sirisena.<\/p>\n

Wijemuni has been arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department on charges that he made false predictions and for misleading the public. He will be produced before court.<\/p>\n

His other predictions include that former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be the next president in Sri Lanka at the 2021 presidential election.<\/p>\n

On\u00a024th of\u00a0June 2009, the Criminal Investigations Department had arrested<\/a> a popular astrologer\u00a0Chandrasiri Bandara, who predicted that President Mahinda Rajapaksa would be ejected from office.\u00a0Chandrasiri Bandara said that the government would flounder in September and October because of political and economic problems.\u00a0The opposition have condemned the arrest of\u00a0Chandrasiri Bandara and warned that the country is heading towards a dictatorship.\u00a0“The crime which Chandrasiri Bandara committed was publishing an astrological column which was adverse to the government,” said opposition United National Party.<\/p>\n

Astrology is taken seriously by numerous Sri Lankan politicians. Regardless the opposition of\u00a0Sri Lanka\u2019s main Buddhist institutions, Sirisena appointed his personal astrologer<\/a>\u00a0Sattambige Don Neil Sriyaratne alias\u00a0Niluka Ekanayake to the post of Governor Central Province on the 17th, March 2016. Niluka\u00a0Ekanakayake has no qualifications to justify her appointment to such a lucrative government position.\u00a0Niluka was the first transgender Governor in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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