{"id":197213,"date":"2018-12-21T18:01:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T12:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=197213"},"modified":"2018-12-22T15:25:25","modified_gmt":"2018-12-22T09:55:25","slug":"mangalas-pa-seen-worshipping-his-picture-at-finance-ministry-photographs-deleted-after-severe-social-media-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/mangalas-pa-seen-worshipping-his-picture-at-finance-ministry-photographs-deleted-after-severe-social-media-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Mangala&#8217;s PA Seen Worshipping His Picture At Finance Ministry: Photographs Deleted After Severe Social Media Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Newly-reinstated Finance and Mass Media Minister <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Mangala+Samaraweera\">Mangala Samaraweera<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Personal Assistant (PA) <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Sameera+Manhara\">Sameera Manahara<\/a><\/strong> who quit in August 2017 after he was arrested for allegedly carrying drugs, was spotted worshipping Samaraweera&#8217;s picture at the Finance Ministry yesterday.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sameera-Manahara-and-Mangala-Samaraweera.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-197212\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sameera-Manahara-and-Mangala-Samaraweera.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"887\" height=\"895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sameera-Manahara-and-Mangala-Samaraweera.jpeg 577w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sameera-Manahara-and-Mangala-Samaraweera-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sameera-Manahara-and-Mangala-Samaraweera-297x300.jpeg 297w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sameera-Manahara-and-Mangala-Samaraweera-45x45.jpeg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 887px) 100vw, 887px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He was seen with Samaraweera when the latter assumed duties at the Finance Ministry yesterday (20).<\/p>\n<p>The photograph of Manahara worshipping Sanaraweera&#8217;s picture went viral today. However, after a severe social media backlash, Mamahara himself has deleted the pictures.<\/p>\n<p>Sameera Manahara was arrested on August 5, 2017, while travelling in a luxury jeep with three other friends, on their way to a party. Cocaine, methamphetamine pills and hashish were found with the four men, and one of them later confessed that the drugs belonged to him. Manahara and the three others were released on bail.<\/p>\n<p>Manahara insisted he had nothing to do with the drugs and alleged the media was on a witch-hunt against him and the minister. On August 8, last year, Manahara announced his resignation to &#8216;save the minister&#8217; from \u2018a well-planned conspiracy\u2019 to \u2018sling mud at the minister and the yahapalanaya government.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>However, it seems he is back in the employment of the minister despite his encounter with the law enforcement bodies. Manahara is no stranger to controversy; his connection with the minister is often commented on and in the many years he has worked with Samaraweera, he has accompanied the minister on his trips abroad, including to the luxury Four Seasons hotel in New York.<\/p>\n<p>Related posts:<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-title eltd-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/mangalas-pr-officer-quits-amidst-drug-bust-to-save-minister-from-mudslinging-campaign\/\"><strong>Mangala\u2019s PR Officer Quits Amidst Drug Bust To \u2018Save\u2019 Minister From Mudslinging Campaign<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-title eltd-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/traveling-to-us-with-a-young-man-mangala-clarifies\/\"><strong>Traveling To US With A \u2018Young Man\u2019 \u2013 Mangala Clarifies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-title eltd-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/homosexuality-happy-marriages-mangala-saga\/\"><strong>Homosexuality, Happy Marriages &amp; Mangala Saga<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":197212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2186,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-featured-news","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mangala&#039;s PA Seen Worshipping His Picture At Finance Ministry: Photographs Deleted After Severe Social Media Backlash - Colombo 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