A Sri Lankan Minister and a prominent Opposition lawmaker on Friday told Parliament that they are being harassed by colleagues for opposing the handing over of the visa issuance to an Indian company.
The island’s Tourism Minister Harin Fernando and Opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva told the House that some MPs had told them not to oppose the project and to drop the probe.
“An MP has said that I have accepted a bribe and therefore I have become silent on the issue. There is no truth in this. I have not become silent. I am opposing it continuously,” Minister Fernando told Parliament.
Leader of the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balaya (SJB) Sajith Premadasa also informed the House that Dr. de Silva has been subjected to death threats by some MPs.
However Dr. de Silva clarified this statement saying the MPs did not directly threaten him with death but had asked him to stop the probe conducted by the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) of which he heads.
“I am however worried that my life will be harmed. What if I am killed on the street?” he asked.
There was a political and public outcry after the relevant authorities handed over the issuance of visas for foreign visitors to VFS Global a questionable private company owned by Indian nationals.
The issue broke out after a foreign female friend of a Sri Lankan man was refused an entry visa into the country by personnel at the VFS Global counter at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Colombo.
Since then the visa counter at the BIA has once again been handed over to Sri Lanka’s Immigration and Emigration authorities.
