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UPFA gets egg in the face from its PS delinquents
At least three members of UPFA dominated Pradeshiya Sabhas (PS) were involved in bloody intra-party clashes in separate incidents at Kelaniya and Bulathsinhala over the past week, prompting the party to warn its men to stay in line, or face the consequences.
In one incident, Kelaniya PS Chairman Prasanna Ranaweera and PS member Nadika Sampath were injured in a clash with a rival group from the same party, over turf control in the area.
The fracas erupted after the PS Chairman raised objections when the rival group attempted to get involved in welcoming Pushpa Rajapaksa, wife of Economics Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who was the chief guest at the opening ceremony of several road projects in the area.
Kelaniya PS Vice Chairman Chaminda Duminda told the Sunday Times that the rival group, allegedly cheered on by former Public Relations Minister Meryvn Silva, had attempted to put up welcome banners and buntings without prior approval of the PS authority.
“It is standard procedure to obtain prior approval of the local council for such activities, but this was not done in this case, and when it was challenged, the PS members came under attack,” he said.
He warned that, if the culprits behind this unprovoked attack are not punished according to the law, then the areas PS authority will have a rethink on participating in future party propaganda work. Furthermore, he said that they would make a fresh appeal to Minister Basil Rajapaksa to appoint without further delay, a fresh party organiser for the area, as, at present, no one was responsible for the happenings in the area.
He added that, the attackers who were identified, and are known to the police, are still allowed to roam freely, creating tension and are a future security threat in the area. A spokesman for Police headquarters said that further investigations were under way.
Former Minister Mervyn Silva was the chief UPFA organiser for the area, before being forced to step down, following the murder of PS member Hasitha Madawala who was gunned down close to his home on Jan. 5 this year. Three persons working as coordinating secretaries in the former minister’s office, were later arrested by police and are presently in remand prison facing murder charges.
Meanwhile, a hunt is on for a UPFA PS member from Bulathsinhala in Kalutara, after he allegedly led a gang that attacked and seriously wounded two policemen earlier last week. The alleged incident had taken place inside the precincts of a Hindu Kovil, where the police had intervened in a brawl between two groups.
Four persons described as close associates of the missing PS member, were later taken into custody and are presently in remand prison facing assault charges.
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