MP Kaushalya Ariyaratne lodges CID complaint over malicious social media campaign

Saturday, 28 December 2024 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

NPP MP Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne

National People’s Power (NPP) MP Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne has lodged a formal complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over a series of malicious and false news posts circulating on social media, including personal attacks targeting her.

In a statement, MP Ariyaratne condemned the deliberate campaign to tarnish her reputation and called for swift action against those responsible for creating and spreading such content. She emphasised that these “cheap tactics” would not deter women from participating in politics nor harm the Government, stating, “If anyone believes such tricks can intimidate us, they are sorely mistaken. While you resort to petty ploys, we will continue to focus on progress.”

The complaint comes in the wake of a national Sinhala daily newspaper publishing a report about an alleged domestic dispute involving an NPP Colombo district MP and his wife, which also mentioned a fellow female MP. Following this, social media posts falsely alleged that MP Ariyaratne was the female MP referenced in the report. The posts escalated into a vicious online campaign, spreading unfounded accusations and defamatory content about her.

MP Ariyaratne has called on the CID to investigate the orchestrated campaign and take appropriate legal action against those responsible for harming her good name.