Corruption allegations: NDF won't intervene on behalf of Chamara Sampath

The New Democratic Front (NDF) wouldn't intervene on behalf of Badulla district parliamentarian Chamara Sampath Dassanayake remanded on a corruption charge alleged to have been perpetrated during his tenure as the Uva Chief Minister in 2016, a senior party official said.

- By Shamindra Ferdinando

Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali on Tuesday (01) remanded Dassanayake till April 8 pending investigations.

NDF Secretary Ms Sharmila Perera said that the NDF couldn't get involved in the issue at hand though Dassanayake represented the NDF in the current Parliament. When The Island pointed out that the NDF couldn't simply wash its hands off the allegations directed at the lawmaker, Ms Perera said that several political parties and groups contested the last parliamentary elections in Nov 2024 under the NDF's symbol 'Gas Cylinder.'

According to her Dassanayake had been nominated by the dissident SLFP group led by one-time Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. In the post-presidential election environment, several parties, including the UNP, formed an alliance to contest parliamentary election and those contesting under the NDF symbol wouldn't mean the party exercised disciplinary control over them, the NDF official said.