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The Island
|September 12, 2025
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara has gone on record as saying that former political leaders ruined the country and, therefore, they must not be looked after at the expense of the public.
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He has sought to justify the newly passed law that strips former Presidents of their perks and privileges. Interestingly, the JVP aligned itself with the political parties of the former Presidents it is now inveighing against. Some of the JVP seniors were in the Cabinet of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's government from 2004 to 2005, and the JVP was instrumental in enabling Mahinda Rajapaksa to secure the executive presidency in 2005. It facilitated the victory of Maithripala Sirisena in the 2015 presidential election, and was on very intimate terms with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe; it had representation in the National Executive Council of the UNP-led Yahapalana government, which was responsible for the Treasury bond scams. It had no qualms about throwing a lifeline to the UNP-led government, which President Sirisena tried to topple in 2018 after falling out with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
This story is from the September 12, 2025 edition of The Island.
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