Namal Rajapaksa says cooperation with investigations is the best way to prove innocence, but warns against pressure, agendas and intimidation.
Namal Rajapaksa says the best way to prove innocence is to cooperate fully with investigations, insisting that he and others will appear whenever they are officially called.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and Member of Parliament made the statement while responding to questions from journalists at the SLPP party headquarters on Nelum Mawatha.
Journalists had asked whether former President Mahinda Rajapaksa would appear tomorrow before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
Speaking further, Namal Rajapaksa said they would go whenever they were summoned.
“We will go whenever we are called. The people in the government need to understand that this journey cannot be undertaken through pressure and intimidation. So clearly, there must be an investigation into this. Therefore, we believe that the best way to prove our innocence is to cooperate with the investigations,” he said.
However, he warned that justice cannot be expected if investigations are carried out under pressure or according to a forced agenda aimed at recording statements.
“If those investigations are carried out with pressure and a forced agenda to record statements, then there can be no justice. Ultimately, it will be the people of this country who will have to bear the loss of that. Because that is how they deceive the people,” he added.
Rajapaksa said investigations must take place regardless of the opposition, claiming that the government is attempting to cover up several matters.
He referred to the incident at the Ministry of Finance, alleging that the death connected to the issue involving the diversion of 80 crore rupees was immediately brushed aside as a suicide.
He said the government is now attempting to create a major social discourse, but insisted that all such incidents require fair investigations.
“We will go whenever we are asked to appear. So there is no question about that. There is no reason to avoid it. But the current government is trying to evade and move past many problems. However, simply trying to slip away like that will not work,” he said.
