Namal Rajapaksa challenges critics to produce any of the 18 Lamborghinis he is accused of owning while attacking the government on several fronts.
Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has challenged anyone who can locate one of the 18 Lamborghini vehicles he is alleged to own to bring it to him, saying he would be delighted to drive it.
Addressing claims about the 18 Lamborghinis that have repeatedly surfaced on political stages and across social media over the years, the MP said no one had yet succeeded in finding any of the vehicles.
Rajapaksa said those continuing to make allegations should reveal where the cars are being kept. He added that if there were any truth to stories claiming the vehicles had been flown into Sri Lanka by aircraft, he would gladly take one of them for a drive.
He made the remarks while speaking to the media after attending an event.
“You want to know how clean Clean Sri Lanka is? This year has recorded the highest number of dengue patients in Sri Lanka’s history. It began with the Beira Lake, but we saw the state of the Beira Lake during the Vesak season. Today, whether you travel to Galle, Matara or anywhere else in Sri Lanka, even if you visit the Floating Market, you can see what has happened to the Floating Market that was once filled with entrepreneurs, businesspeople and tourists. However, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank appear to be cleaning themselves up. A total of 323 containers jumped from the port, and the port was cleaned. A hacker jumped, put money into the wrong account, and the ministry was cleaned. Thirteen billion was transferred into the wrong account from the bank, and the bank was cleaned. The farmer has been cleaned out by importing rice from overseas. Businesses are being cleaned out through unlimited taxes. The government appears to be cleaning the country’s domestic economy and its people. But Clean Sri Lanka is another lie and illusion presented to deceive everyone, from famous cricketers to businesspeople in this country.
“The only opportunity these 159 MPs and the opposition now have is to go to the canteen. Everything else appears to be operating according to an agenda under which laws are passed in line with the government’s wishes, regardless of democracy or freedom of speech. We also saw today that when opposition MPs secure approval for a proposal and bring an issue forward for debate, the government party completely opposes it. Why? Because such a debate exposes the government party’s hidden agenda. Society then learns about the government’s political efforts to grant promotions and positions to people who are favourable to it and capable of fulfilling its needs. In the same way, what occurs in parliamentary committees and what is later presented in Parliament are two different things. The government is clearly attempting to move towards an authoritarian dictatorship. The difference, however, is that even those 159 people are helpless within that dictatorship.
“When the government was in opposition, its members waded through mud, ate paddy stalks and claimed to stand with the farmers. Today, however, the farmer has been left completely helpless. Regardless of how much the government discusses the issue, nothing will work unless paddy is purchased at a fair price. Regardless of how hard the government tries, it will not work unless fertilizer is supplied at a fair price. The same applies to tea farmers. The government is struggling with the world market price of tea, but justice will not be delivered to tea farmers unless they receive the fertilizer they require and the price they deserve. Vegetable farmers are also facing extreme helplessness today. How helpless are they? At the very time potatoes and onions are being harvested locally, the government has reached the point of importing potatoes and onions from overseas. The same problem affects sugarcane farmers. When we recently travelled to the Eastern Province, we found that sugarcane farmers were not receiving the income they deserve. Why? Because the government is allowing its favourites to import sugar, disrupting domestic sugar production. The government’s agricultural policy is therefore being implemented to benefit government-friendly businesspeople and the party, rather than the farmers and the public of this country.
“We must ask the Prime Minister a question. When world market oil prices increased, why did they raise the price of oil brought into Sri Lanka at the beginning? Why was the price increased? If that was the justification, they should have reduced it when world prices declined. But now they are complaining after purchasing oil at the highest bid in the world. Who instructed them to buy at 286 dollars a barrel? Sri Lanka has become the only country to purchase oil at 286 dollars per barrel. We are not making this claim ourselves. An Executive Director of a major bank made the statement internationally, although the government denied it. They now admit that they purchased at a high price, but at the time the same government insisted that it had not bought at a high price. In the end, once international media reported the matter, they were forced to acknowledge it. Now they say they bought at a high price. That means the government continues to buy at an unlimited price above the world market rate. We previously said that 150 went into the minister’s pocket. But now, when oil is purchased at the world’s highest bid, whose pocket receives the money? The public now has a clear understanding of these matters. A discussion is growing among the people about how those who accused us are now attempting to clean themselves up. On one point, the Prime Minister has told the truth. While the President is lying excessively, the Prime Minister came forward and admitted that, yes, they purchased at a high price.
“Just like those Lamborghinis, just like the golden horses and just like the 18 billion dollars, there is now the story about the 18 Lamborghinis that Namal allegedly said he saw being unloaded from an aircraft. The President says he never made such a statement. They are now denying something recorded in the Hansard of Parliament. This is the JVP, and nothing different can be expected from them. Tomorrow or the day after, they will say they never made any of those statements. I saw the President travel to the Eastern Province and say that they would not do everything they promised during the election campaign. That is their politics. That is the reality. People believed those stories and voted for them, so there is no purpose in blaming the public. During the remaining period, people will understand what happened and respond accordingly.
“I am now waiting for someone to bring me one of my 18 Lamborghinis so that I can drive it. During the period of MP Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa or Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, and even during the time of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is being victimised by this government despite bringing independence to this country, I have never driven a Lamborghini. But if they bring me a Lamborghini through the efforts of this government, I will be able to drive one.”
