Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, he is ready to go to the Bribery Commission and record his statement in the bond scam which has created a political upheaval in the country.<br/><br/>Mr Wicremsinghe's comments came as Joint opposition members, led by former President Mahinda Rajapakse, had demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister in wake of Committee on Public enterprises (COPE) report which found a former Central bank governor Arjuna Mahendran guilty for bond scam. Mahendran is considered close to the Prime Minister and is presently working in his office after being removed from Central governor post in July.<br/><br/>The Sri Lankan Prime Minister termed the COPE report as a victory for his government, which he said, was elected on the promise of good governance.<br/><br/>Cabinet spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne accused the Joint opposition of dragging the Prime Minister's name for malice and vengeance. The spokesman said, it was the Prime Minister who took the initiative to refer the COPE report to Attorney General for taking legal action and to determine whether there was any misappropriation of public money.<br/><br/>Sri Lanka currently has a unity government of the United National Party, headed by the Prime Minister, and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), led by President Maithripala Sirisena. However, a section of SLFP, headed by Mahinda Rajapakse, is opposed to the current government and have joined hands with smaller parties to form the Joint Opposition.
News On AIR | November 3, 2016 12:38 PM
Lanka PM ready to face graft probe over bank bonds