A political firestorm erupts as a party leader levels stunning accusations of deep-rooted corruption at the highest level of government, daring the administration to prove him wrong.
Party leader and lawyer Udaya Gammanpila has launched a fierce and uncompromising attack, declaring that he and his party fearlessly label President Anura Dissanayake as “extremely corrupt.” He made these explosive statements during a media conference for the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, framing his audacity as a consequence of his own clean record.
The speech was a direct response to claims made by government ministers who alleged that everyone in the front row of a recent Nugegoda political gathering had at least four or five active files with the Bribery Commission. Gammanpila, who was seated there, issued a sharp challenge. “I challenge the NPP ministers. If possible, tell me about not four or five files from the Bribery Commission against me, but just one file,” he stated. He emphatically reminded them that since the Bribery Commission was established in 1994, no file has ever been opened against him. “It is because we have not committed theft, hooliganism and adultery that we are fearlessly saying that President Anura Dissanayake is extremely corrupt.”
Gammanpila claimed that his previous remark at the Nugegoda meeting, where he called President Anura the most corrupt leader in Sri Lanka’s history, had deeply hurt the government. He accused them of using what he termed the “Dobi Force” to slander his party, but insisted that no matter how agitated they become, he was speaking the “bitter truth.”
The party leader then detailed a list of major corruption scandals, urging the public to look beyond what he called the “Sahasdanavi scam, the diesel mafia, the 323 container scam, the 1,775 cab tender scam, the rice tender scam, and the salt import scam.” He posed a series of pointed, rhetorical questions to the president: “Isn’t Prince Anura the first president who tried to put aside a person who is worthy of the position of Auditor General… and appoint a Kelani colleague who has never conducted a government audit in his life? Wasn’t it Prince Anura who, in a corrupt conspiracy, replaced Mr. Madhava Tennakoon… with one of his own? Wasn’t it Prince Anura who, instead of punishing Mr. Seevali Arukgoda… promoted him to the position of Director General… and even gave him an extension of service?” He concluded this challenge by asking, “If there was a more corrupt President than you, I challenge you to name him.”
Addressing the criticism that the Nugegoda meeting was a “meeting of thieves,” Gammanpila argued that with so many allegations being traded in politics, it is impossible to know which are true. He cited several allegations that he claims were “proven to be blatant lies,” such as “Ugandan money, Chichi’s rocket, Chichi’s £90 gold necklace, golden horses, Namal Rajapaksa’s Lamborghini 19.” He stated, “Therefore, we have to deal with everyone who does politics.”
However, he issued a final warning to the government. He asserted that while his party promised to catch thieves after getting a mandate, they will not be intimidated into silence. “We are warning right now that if they try to put us in jail and fabricate false cases to stop us, it will be a disgrace to the government,” he said, marking a defiant end to his charged address.
