Ranjan’s cocaine user list not received: Speaker

By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday confirmed to Parliament that he has not received a list in writing of alleged

Highways and Road Development Ranjan Ramanayake

cocaine users in Parliament that State Minister of Highways and Road Development Ranjan Ramanayake had pledged to handover to him.

Expressing his concerns over lawmakers engaging themselves on a heated argument on Wednesday in his absence, the Speaker said: “Some lawmakers expressed their worries in Parliament highlighting the gravity of the statement lawmaker Ranjan Ramanayake has made claiming to know the names of cocaine users in this House. The Deputy Speaker who was presiding the assembly confirmed that no list was received by Speaker exposing the names of cocaine-using lawmakers. Furthermore, Minister Ramanayake has failed to hand over a list until this moment.”

On 11 February, State Minister Ramanayake held that there are Cabinet Ministers who consume cocaine and that he has the names of these Ministers. Later, on 18 February, the Minister claimed he had handed over information on 24 Parliamentarians, who use narcotics including cocaine, to the Speaker and Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Ramanayake also stated that there are Provincial Councillors and Local Government members using drugs.

However, on Wednesday after a long meeting, the United National Party Parliamentarian held in the Parliament appointed a four-member Committee to probe the allegations levelled by State Minister Ramanayake that certain lawmakers were consumers of cocaine. The Committee will be headed by Public Enterprise and Kandyan Heritage Minister Lakshman Kiriella. State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne, UNP MP Prof. Ashu Marasinghe and Presidents Counsel Nissanka Nanayakkara were also part of the Committee.