Rajitha lambasts bond commission

• Says the commission has lost focus 
• Questions why a state counsel was aggressive towards a Govt. Minister 

By Chathuri Dissanayake

Minister Rajitha Senaratne yesterday launched  a fresh attack on the Special Presidential Commission to inquire into the bond issue, accusing the commissioners of going beyond their mandate. 

Implying that the commissioners appointed did not have the skills or specialised knowledge required to investigate the bond issue, the Cabinet Co-spokesperson claimed that the commissioners had lost focus in executing the responsibilities they were tasked with. 

Relating an exchange that happened at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Senaratne said he raised issues over the conduct of the commission and its scope. 

“I have spoken to so many economists, they have told me even they are not familiar with the area as it is a specialised subject. Even after such a long period I still don’t understand the deal. Those who have the knowledge for such transactions are in the Central Bank. Such is the complexity of the issue the commission is investigating. I asked what the scope of the commission is. So this has to be dealt with in-depth, with undivided attention committed to the subject,” he said. 

Critical of the style and recent proceedings of the commission, the Minister said he raised questions on how the recent questioning and investigations into phone conversations and house rentals contributed towards uncovering the fraud that is said to have taken place. 

“They are now summoning individuals who they think are parties to the transaction, and their friends and their houses and telephones. Say they found out all about the telephone conversation, how can they say whether the transaction was correct or not, whether there was a fraud or not through conversation records?” the Minister asked. 

Attempting to defend his ill-fated colleague, former Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake, whose dubious house rental arrangements and real estate deal were revealed before the commission, Senaratne asked how the process of an individual buying a house could determine that there had been fraud in the bond transaction. 

Senaratne claimed that the commission has deviated far from its mandate to submit a special report revealing the real situation of the bond transaction. 

Further, he also found fault with the style of questioning followed by the legal counsel of the Attorney General’s Department. 

“The AG is the legal counsel for the Government. When a Counsel for the Government is questioning a Government Minister, why is he being aggressive? It is the AG who appears for the Government Ministers. The Counsel was asked to change the aggressive tone by presiding commissioners a few times,” he said. 

The Minister also found fault with the conduct of the Attorney General’s Department, implying that the officials were selective in the execution of their duties. 

Highlighting the speed at which bond transaction-related investigations had been completed, he questioned why the same department had not been able to process the 82 files related to corruption allegations linked to the Rajapaksa administration. 

“The AG’s Department was able to find out details regarding this Minister within months. But why is the same AG’s Department which worked so fast not able to investigate the corruption charges of the Rajapaksa regime. Even after two years there are 82 files at the AG’s Department. They cannot find Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s signature for two years. This is what I asked the Cabinet to pay attention to,” he said.