Govt. Puts System on Trial with Ranil’s Arrest
Harini Fires Warning Shot at Fake News Peddlers
Two Loyalists Block UNP–SJB Unity Drive
Ranil’s Release Rekindles Old Propaganda War on Sajith
Ranil’s Arrest, Bail and Discharge Mark a Political First
Ranil Behind Bars: A Historic First
Sri Lanka witnessed an unprecedented moment on Friday (22) when the CID arrested former President Ranil Wickremesinghe — the first time in history a head of state has been taken into custody and remanded. By 10.00 pm the same day, the Fort Chief Magistrate ordered him into remand custody for four days, marking a political earthquake no one had quite expected.
Ranil has always been a man of records — losing a general election, sneaking into Parliament through the back door, and then ascending to the presidency through a parliamentary vote rather than a people’s mandate. But this latest entry into history books — being the first former President sent to remand prison — eclipses them all.
Many assumed Ranil’s downfall, if it ever came, would be tied to headline scandals like the bond scam, the Easter tragedy, or even the shadow of Batalanda. Instead, it was his London trip — dismissed by many as trivial — that delivered the decisive blow.
The allegation is damning: that Ranil spent over Rs. 1.66 billion in public funds on what was essentially a private journey to attend his wife Maithri Wickremesinghe’s graduation ceremony. The trail began with letters written by his secretary, Sandra Perera, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding her per diem. Those requests raised red flags that snowballed into a CID investigation. Statements were taken from Sandra, as well as then-presidential secretary Saman Ekanayake, and even protocol officers from the US Embassy and Singapore High Commission were flown in to testify. Finally, Ranil himself was summoned, questioned, and arrested.
The arrest stunned the political establishment. Few believed the government would dare touch Ranil over this matter, assuming the blame would fall on bureaucrats like Saman Ekanayake. Even the opposition — usually eager to attack — argued that the government had blundered. They insisted Ranil should have been held accountable for far graver crimes before being booked over a travel bill.
But politics thrives on the unexpected. By hauling Ranil into custody, the government may have accidentally given him what he lacked most: political oxygen. Once written off as a spent force, Ranil Wickremesinghe suddenly finds himself back in the headlines — not as the shrewd operator of old, but as the first ex-president ever to be marched into remand.
A Test of the System
The arrest of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was no accident. It was not a fluke, nor a reckless move. According to inside information, the government had debated the matter beforehand and deliberately allowed the process to unfold — partly to test how far the system would function if a former head of state was taken into custody. Would it run smoothly to the end? Or would it collapse midway, blocked by unseen hands?
For decades, the public has held a cynical view: when powerful figures are investigated — presidents, prime ministers, ministers, or tycoons — the probe stalls at a certain point. Justice, people say, is always stopped in its tracks. But this time, the government seems determined to prove otherwise. Opposition voices claim the government “stabbed itself in the back” by arresting Ranil, but the truth is different. Far from being a blunder, this was a calculated move — a conscious scan of how the machinery of justice responds when the untouchable are touched.
Just three weeks ago, many dismissed the possibility of Ranil ever being arrested, assuming the case would die quietly. Yet the government’s message is now clear: the law applies equally to everyone. If mistakes were made, even an ex-president must face the consequences.
Ranil’s camp initially insisted no arrest would follow the questioning. But by the final hours, his own lawyers sensed the direction of the interrogation and quietly warned him to prepare for the worst. By Friday afternoon, the CID formally informed him of their decision. The moment reportedly left Ranil visibly shaken.
From that point, the process was set in motion. Skeptics assumed that even if the CID arrested him, the courts would release him on bail without delay. But as the Fort Magistrate’s Court convened that evening, suspense mounted. At 6.00 pm, the magistrate postponed the bail ruling for “half an hour.” Instead, the final decision dragged until 10.00 pm, fuelling a storm of rumours. Some whispered that the delay was to seek advice from the President or other power centres. Others speculated that Anura would be consulted. But no such call was ever made. The process was left untouched — carefully observed by all sides, but not interfered with.
Even power outages at the court that evening did not derail proceedings. Electricity Board workers were summoned to keep the court running. And finally, at 10.00 pm, the magistrate delivered the historic verdict: Ranil remanded until Tuesday (26).
That decision sealed more than just Ranil’s fate. It proved, at least for now, that the courts could act without outside influence, and that the system — long dismissed as broken — was capable of asserting itself when put to the ultimate test.
Welikada outcome
After the magistrate’s order, Ranil was taken to Welikada Prison in handcuffs on Friday night in a prison bus. However, Ranil’s first night was not spent with ordinary prisoners but in a special room with ordinary amenities in Welikada Prison. It was a kind of ordinary restroom inside the prison. Former IGPs, powerful secretaries and even powerful MPs who were imprisoned in the past were kept in this restroom with ordinary amenities.
However, Ranil, who was kept in this restroom, had to face several troubles that night. The main one was the toilet facility. Especially since the commode in it was not working properly, it was a big problem for Ranil to use it. Accordingly, Ranil had to wait until the prison staff repaired it in a way that he could use. Also, Ranil had not had any food or drink since Friday morning until night, so Ranil was very hungry after arriving at Welikada. Even though Ranil’s food had already been delivered to the prison from home, it was around 1.00 am when the food reached Ranil. By then, Ranil, who was hungry,was eating it without any hesitation as soon as he received the food. Also, since he had never experienced this before and had only minimal facilities, Ranil did not get a good night’s sleep that day. Also, since Ranil was suffering from many illnesses, the doctors who observed him the next day recommended that Ranil be transferred to the National Hospital and that he be given food from home.
Ranil’s request to Sajith
when former President Ranil was remanded, Opposition Leader Sajith was on a visit to Singapore. As soon as this information was reported, Sajith decided to cut short his visit to Singapore and immediately return to Sri Lanka. Accordingly, Sajith took steps to state his position on this matter to the country by leaving a special ‘X’ message while he was at Changi Airport in Singapore to return to Sri Lanka. Sajith said that the entire process behind Ranil’s arrest and imprisonment had been publicly disclosed by a YouTuber a few days earlier. That is not democracy.
Moreover, what Sajith did on the other side immediately after arriving in Sri Lanka was to go to Welikada Prison and inquire about Ranil’s well-being. Many people thought that Sajith would not even look at Ranil at this moment due to the mistreatment, leg-pulling, game-playing and defeating of Sajith by Ranil throughout Sajith’s political career.
But Sajith, who put all that aside, like a true gentleman, immediately returned to Sri Lanka and went to Welikada to see Ranil along with his members of parliament. Among those members were Mujibur Rahman, J.C. Alawathuwala and Sujith Sanjaya Perera. Accordingly, Sajith met Ranil with these members and had a brief discussion about his medical condition and the future work to be done.
At this point, both Ranil and Sajith wanted a private conversation. Perhaps because they understood that, after a while, Mujibur, J.C. and Sujith Sanjaya stepped aside a little and arranged for the two of them to talk alone. Accordingly, even the MPs did not have a chance to know what was discussed between the two. But we can say with great responsibility that during this conversation, which no one knows, many decisions were taken to completely turn this process upside down.
Everyone who reads the ‘Inside Politics’ column knows that throughout the past period, we have exposed to the country, the games Ranil played to destroy Sajith, the conspiracies Ranil made, and the plans Ranil made.
From the day Sajith started his political career, Ranil has been throwing stones at Sajith’s head. Especially since Sajith left the UNP and formed the SJB, Ranil’s only mission has been to destroy Sajith and the SJB. Even though Ranil spent all his 24 hours destroying Sajith in this way, at no time did Sajith spend even a second destroying Ranil or defeat Ranil. We have never heard of such a thing, and we have never reported such a thing in this regard. Because Sajith is not a politician of the kind who chases after and attacks people. No matter who attacked, Sajith did not worry about it and only did politics with the people of his country at his own expense.
Even the brief discussion of a few minutes between Ranil and Sajith in the prison cell took place despite such a difference between the two. Here, Ranil spoke with a severely broken mentality. Accordingly, it was seen that Ranil was directly asking Sajith for help to recover. There, Ranil asked Sajith for only one request. That is, to not give up this fight, to fight against this repression carried out by the government, and Sajith to take the lead in the operation to get him out. Without thinking twice, Sajith said that he would definitely lead the fight to get Ranil out. Sajith also promised Ranil that he would get Ranil out.
Two demons
If any party had planned to keep Ranil in remand prison, that plan changed with this word given by Sajith to Ranil. Accordingly, immediately after Sajith left prison, he stated to the media and said that if those who manage social media make statements about court decisions in advance, it is not democracy. Sajith also said that the SJB will fight against this process.
While Sajith was preparing for the battle to save Ranil, two demons within the UNP had taken steps to remove Sajith from this operation, as usual and start a battle to save Ranil under their leadership. Although these two demons were very close to Ranil, many parties had accused them in the past that they were two demons who were destroying Ranil and the UNP. On several occasions, Ravi Karunanayake, a deputy leader of the UNP, publicly stated that two demons are destroying the UNP, and that these two demons are destroying not only the UNP but also Ranil Wickremesinghe.
We have already made all the arrangements to make an extraordinary revelation about who these two demons are and how they operate within the UNP in the coming week through the ‘Inside Politics’ column. However, this time, what we are preparing to reveal through the column is how these two demons, as usual, went to carry out an operation to save Ranil without Sajith and got stuck in the first round.
Accordingly, the first thing these two demons did was to invite other opposition party leaders for a special discussion at the UNP office on ‘Mall Road’ in Colombo to take over the operation to remove Sajith and save Ranil. Accordingly, one of the demons had given a special notice to the officials there about the people to be invited to this discussion. it was said that Mahinda, Maithri, and even Chandrika should be invited to this discussion. Accordingly, although this ghost had initially decided not to invite Sajith, in the end he thought that other party leaders would oppose it, so he inviteed Sajith when he was not attending. This was done by having Ranil’s personal secretary Sandra to call Sajith and invite him to the discussion. When Sandra spoke to Sajith, Sajith was attending a function held in Weligama. Accordingly, when Sandra invited Sajith to come to the discussion, Sajith said that he was currently attending a function held in Weligama.
However, this ghost invited Sajith without knowing anything about the short discussion held between Sajith and Ranil at Welikada. Accordingly, although this ghost invited all the opposition leaders to the discussion, it was a special incident that neither Mahinda, Maithri, nor Chandrika participated. Several of those who participated said that if a fight is launched to save Ranil, SJB and Sajith must definitely take the lead, and that any action taken without SJB will not yield any results. Accordingly, the discussion ended without any results.
This ghost did not back down even though the first discussion was disrupted. Accordingly, the ghost’s second operation was to call all the opposition groups to one discussion table and hold a special media conference on behalf of Ranil. Accordingly, the Amari Hotel in Colombo was chosen for this. This ghost had taken steps to invite all the parties, as well as party leaders, and all the people who served as ministers and MPs under Ranil. G.L. Peiris, Maithripala Sirisena, Namal Rajapaksa and many other former MPs and ministers were seen participating. After the discussion was held, a photo was posted on social media and a major attack began.
Many commented that people with similar serious charges had come together to save someone like Ranil, and that all the thieves had come to the same table. Also, many had commented that the thieves were already scared and preparing to form alliances since no one in the discussion had even seen a smile on their faces. Also Namal who was seen to be gaining some recognition in society in the past, he was attached on social media due to his sitting at this discussion table. it was seen that the second operation of the demon also disappeared as soon as it was found. That incident made it clear to everyone that any operation for Ranil without Sajith or the SJB would be useless.
Ruwan meet Sajith
However, during the discussion between Ranil and Sajith, Ranil had clearly informed Sajith that this fight should be started under Sajith’s leadership. Ranil had also informed the UNP Deputy Leader and his relative Ruwan Wijewardene about this. Accordingly, Ruwan came to the Opposition Leader’s office last weekend to meet Sajith. During the discussion between the two, Sajith clearly stated that the SJB is ready to take the lead in this fight, but it is ready to do it from the Opposition Leader’s office, a place where everyone can gather, not from other places or with other people.
Although Ruwan came to the Opposition Leader’s office at Ranil’s request and discussed this with Sajith, in the past, Ruwan also worked to destroy both Sajith and SJB. We have also reported on this on several occasions in this column. We once revealed information about a secret meeting held at Ruwan Wijewardene’s Hyde Park residence to dismantle SJB MPs during the last presidential election. We named it the ‘Hyde Park Conspiracy’. We revealed to the country how SJB MPs such as Kavinda Jayawardene and Niroshan Perera also participated in that meeting led by Ruwan. We also reported information with evidence in this column about how all the English and Sinhala newspapers belonging to Ruwan Wijewardene’s family had launched joint operations to assassinate Sajith’s character and defeat Sajith. So, when Ruwan met the opposition leader Sajith and seek help, Sajith did not take any action. Sajith had informed Ruwan that he would take all necessary steps to save Ranil, honoring his word as a true gentleman.
‘I stand for this. There is no problem with that. I am not thinking about anything Ranil has done to me in the past. This is an issue about democracy. That is why we are fighting for this. But don’t ask me to come to those meetings on ‘Mal Para’ and the meetings in the hotels. I will not come to those. Instead, I will call a discussion at the Opposition Leader’s Office.
The Opposition Leader’s Office is a public place. It is not the SJB office or anyone’s private place. It is the public place where everyone in the opposition can gather there…’ Ruwan expressed his full agreement with that when Sajith said that. Ruwan also informed Sajith that he had no connection with the meetings held under the leadership of the UNP’s demons.
‘I do not know anything about that meeting. I am not involved in that. I am asking you for only one thing. I only ask you to stand up for Ranil at this time…’ Ruwan said that Sajith agreed with that when he asked. Sajith immediately informed party general secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara to immediately organize a meeting at the opposition leader’s office and invite all opposition party leaders and representatives to it. However, no one representing the Pohottuwa, including Dayasiri Jayasekara, was present at that meeting. When the discussion began, Pohottuwa general secretary Sagara Kariyawasam informed Maddumabandara that the Pohottuwa would not participate in the discussions held at the opposition leader’s office. However, Sajith, along with all the other opposition representatives present, expressed their views at length on the battle to save Ranil, how to lead it and how to proceed on the court day.
Sajith calls Namal
Following this meeting, Sajith engaged in a telephone discussion with Namal regarding the absence of the Pohottuwa representatives. At that time, Sajith pointed out to Namal that the Opposition Leader’s Office is a common place where all the opposition can meet and discuss, and that it is not the SJB office. Sajith also pointed out to Namal that even when Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was the Opposition Leader, many of the joint opposition discussions were held at the Opposition Leader’s Office under the leadership of Mahinda. After Sajith’s explanation, Namal also told Sajith that he would definitely take steps to have Pohottuwa General Secretary Sagara participate in the next discussion.
The next day, two more special meetings were convened at the Opposition Leader’s Office under the leadership of Sajith. Accordingly, Sajith had taken steps to hold the SJB parliamentary group meeting in the morning and to convene the opposition party leaders’ meeting in the afternoon. By then, all the talks called by the two UNP ghosts had failed, and they had also realized that the battle to save Ranil could no longer be carried forward without Sajith and the SJB. Accordingly, the ‘Suttara ghost’, who played tricks on these two ghosts, was launching another special operation behind the scenes to sabotage Sajith’s talks.
That was, this ‘Suttara ghost’ also used to planting fake news in newspapers that Ranil’s family owns. Through that news planting, the Suttara ghost’s plan was to pressure Sajith from the SJB MPs and party leaders to take immediate action to save Ranil. Accordingly, this Suttara demon captured a doctor affiliated with the UNP at the Colombo National Hospital and manipulated him as he wanted.
The news planted in the media said that Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya had come to the Colombo National Hospital late at night with Ranil’s wife Maithri Wickremesinghe to check on Ranil’s well-being. The Suttara demon’s plan through planting this news was to influence Sajith through SJB MPs and party leaders by saying, ‘Here, Harini has come and seen Ranil. Now Ranil is the hero. We should also go with Ranil..’
Harini strikes back
However, less than 24 hours later, this scheming ghost’s work was turned upside down with the Prime Minister’s Office issuing an official statement stating that the news was completely false. Unbeknownst to this scheming ghost, Harini was sitting in the cabinet meeting when this news was published on the websites on Monday night. Accordingly, a moment after the cabinet meeting began, a minister reported to the cabinet that a news story had been reported regarding Harini. At the same time, all the cabinet members including Harini laughed at once, but after a moment, all of them understood the seriousness of the news.
This is not the first time that various media outlets have reported various information regarding Harini. Previously, we have reported on the conflict between Harini and the government on several occasions from this column, with factual evidence. Therefore, Harini’s side has never denied any of the news we published.
But this time the situation was not like that. This false news that was published on a certain website involving Ranil was discussed at length at the cabinet meeting. Here, Harini also emphasized that ‘It is a serious matter’. Accordingly, Harini was instructed by the cabinet to immediately issue a statement regarding the matter.
Accordingly, the Prime Minister’s Office took steps to issue the statement to the media on Tuesday morning. However, by the afternoon, the President had reached the opinion that this false news should not be taken lightly and strict action should be taken. Accordingly, the President, Harini Bimal and the team met suddenly on Monday afternoon to discuss the matter.
It is also reported to the column that legal advice had been obtained from Anura’s side by then. Accordingly, in this discussion, Harini took a firm stand and said that this should not be taken lightly at all and strict action should be taken against it. At that time, Harini also presented a special argument to the President. That is, if this news is true, that party must prove it, and that they can prove their innocence.
‘If I went there at the time you say, they can prove that I was there through CCTV. My house has CCTV installed 24 hours a day. I will give all the CCTV in my house. That night, I finished work and came home for a few minutes. Then I came out of the house again to go to work the next day. I can prove it at any time.’ was the argument that Harini brought there. Accordingly, it was finally decided to complain to the investigation departments against the false news and take legal action in this regard. In addition, Harini also took steps to deny this news by attending a media conference the next day.
Call to Sajith
The SJB MP group meeting chaired by Sajith began in the meantime. Even then, some SJB MPs were not aware that this news was false. Accordingly, as planned by the ‘Suttara Ghost’, at the beginning of the parliamentary group meeting, some SJB MPs had started to exert some influence on Sajith by saying, ‘Oh, Harini went to see Ranil last night.’ Sajith was not disturbed by any of that, but Sajith came to the meeting entrusting several parties to investigate the truth or falsehood of the news. Accordingly, a moment after the meeting began, Sajith received a certain call on his mobile phone. The person on the other end of the call informed Sajith that the relevant news was completely false and that Harini had not gone to meet Ranil.
Accordingly, Sajith ended the relevant telephone conversation and informed the MPs at that time that the Harini-Ranil meeting was completely false news and that it was a hoax concocted by someone. With this revelation by Sajith, the faces of some MPs who were standing for Ranil were seen withering. However, Sajith said that he and the SJB would not give up the fight to save Ranil under any circumstances. Sajith said that the party would provide the necessary legal support and other strength for this. Accordingly, Sajith also took steps to appoint a parliamentary committee to coordinate between the UNP and the SJB to save Ranil.
High Pressure
Meanwhile, Sajith had visited Ranil at the National Hospital every morning and evening for the few days he was in the hospital. Since the next court date was Tuesday, Sajith also visited Ranil at the National Hospital that morning. By then, Sajith had learned that Ranil’s lawyers had been collecting Ranil’s medical records since 2017 and preparing to present the facts to the court. By Tuesday morning, the situation had become so heated that Ranil’s blood pressure had also risen significantly. When the doctors examined Ranil in the morning, it had been reported that it had exceeded 190. However, after Ranil was granted bail on Tuesday evening, the doctors had recorded his blood pressure again, and by then it had returned to normal at 83-120.
Was it a fake illness?
However, the government leaders also wanted to know clearly whether Ranil is in the intensive care unit of the National Hospital because he is really ill or because of his close ties with certain doctors. Accordingly, the column has also heard that on Monday night, a powerful person in the government spoke to a member of the medical team examining Ranil and inquired about the details. It is learnt that the government leader was surprised when the relevant doctor reported the true details of Ranil’s medical conditions to the government leader.
‘Three out of four valves in Ranil’s heart are blocked. This was first identified during a test conducted in Singapore in 2017…’ When the doctor said this, the government leader had asked, ‘Isn’t it surprising that a person is alive if three out of four chest tubes are blocked?’ The relevant doctor had given a strange answer.
‘No, we have seen a special situation here. Such a thing happens very rarely. All three of these blocks have come close to Ranil’s heart. But fortunately for Ranil, when those three vessels are blocked, a separate temporary line has been opened to allow blood to flow to the heart. That is how blood has been pumped to the heart in the past. But it can stop at any time. Ranil has taken that risk. Therefore, there is already some risk to his life…’, it is learnt that the doctor revealed in the conversation between the former doctor and the government strongman.
Did Modi call Anura?
In the meantime, after the first plan backfired, the two UNP ghosts launched another operation through the media. A news story suddenly published said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called Anura to talk about Ranil. This news became so bad that within a moment it even reached the Indian High Commission in this country. Some people also called the President and tried to find out whether the news was true or not.
Upon hearing this, the President, unable to control his laughter, said, ‘Oh, no one called me after hearing about Ranil. At least, none of Ranil’s friends who are said to be in the embassies even asked me about it….’ Accordingly, when we also investigated the matter, it was confirmed that no one had called the President to inquire about Ranil. However, the UNP had taken steps to assign the task of informing embassies regarding Ranil to Ali Sabir, G.L. Peiris, and Ruwan Wijewardene. All embassies had informed them that this was an internal issue within the country and they could not interfere in it.
Opposition trapped?
However, several other special events that occurred on Tuesday, when Ranil was granted bail, were also witnessed. The first was that some people even posted photos of the inside of the court on social media, saying, ‘300 lawyers came to the court to appear for Ranil before the case even started.’
The second was that people were brought to the court in groups as per the needs of various politicians and parties and protests were launched when the case was being heard. Accordingly, another order issued by the Magistrate while granting bail to Ranil stated that the persons who posted photographs in violation of court discipline and those who behaved in a manner that obstructed court proceedings should be investigated immediately and reported to the court.
Accordingly, it is learnt that these persons are to be charged under the three charges of obstructing court proceedings, threatening the court and contempt of court. It is also learnt that the names and photographs of 20 persons including politicians who had already acted in such a manner have been revealed by the investigation teams.
However, many people noticed another strange thing behind this incident. That is, the police did not take any prior action in this regard even though they had been informed in advance that people would gather near the court on Tuesday. Normally, even when it has been announced in advance that people will be gathered near a court or that demonstrations will be held in Colombo, the police would go to the courts in the respective areas in advance and obtain prohibitory orders against it.
But none of that happened that day. It is also reported that a senior DIG had issued a circular to lower-ranking officers not to take any action such as tear gas or water cannons against the people who came. Accordingly, many people said that the police launched this action with the aim of trapping the opposition groups in some way. Because if a case has been summoned before the court and protests are held in front of the court against it, it is clearly an insult to the court. It is an obstruction of the court’s proceedings. It is an unjustified threat to the court. Accordingly, many people have now suspected that this was done by the police with the aim of deliberately trapping the opposition. It is also reported that a separate investigation has already been initiated against those who published news about the court verdicts on social media before the case began.
After being granted bail, Ranil was receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of the National Hospital for two days. Sajith went to the National Hospital on Wednesday to inquire about Ranil’s well-being. At that time, an X-ray of Ranil’s chest was being taken. Since it would take about 20 minutes, Sajith signaled to Ranil that he was leaving and left. As soon as Sajith got into the vehicle, he received a phone call from Ranil. Ranil said that he would be admitted to a general ward that day and that he would inform Sajith of the ward he was in.
The Ghost Returns
Fresh from the hospital visit , Sajith wasted no time and walked straight into the opposition party leaders’ meeting at his office. Strikingly, many who had skipped the earlier meeting made their presence felt this time. Among them was MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake—well known for his closeness to Ranil—who quipped to reporters before stepping in: “Ranil went to jail… Sajith recovered… Sajith’s stars are shining now.”
But the day’s real drama wasn’t in Chamara’s words. It was the sudden appearance of the UNP’s infamous “Suttara Ghost”—the very man long accused of plotting endless conspiracies to undermine Sajith.
At the meeting’s outset, party leaders extended warm thanks to Sajith for his role in securing Ranil’s bail. Even the Ghost, masked in false gratitude, joined the chorus with an exaggerated act of thanks. Though some were deceived by this performance, Sajith’s sharp eyes betrayed no belief in the charade.
That very night, the Ghost privately bragged to his friends: “I fooled Sajith today. From now on, I’ll pretend he’s the leader. I’ll go to the opposition leader’s office, bow, say ‘You are the leader’… but behind the scenes, I’ll keep playing my games—even if it means ripping the tablecloth off the dining table before I leave.”
The purpose was clear: to block any chance of a UNP–SJB union. For the Ghost, the UNP leadership remains the only prize worth fighting for—and he knows such a merger would kill his dream forever.
This is the same Ghost who, while SJB members mourned Sajith’s presidential defeat, celebrated in secret—even though Ranil too had lost. Confident in Anura’s rise, he told visitors then: “Our mission is complete. Sajith is finished. Anura wins, we win. I was with Ranil, Anura, and Vijitha all along.” Such is the duplicity of the Suttara Ghost, ready at any moment to stage another tablecloth stunt inside the opposition leader’s office.
Now, however, the Ghost and his clan find themselves in disarray. Their master Ranil, along with the UNP’s top brass, is being dragged into court. And the storm has only begun. Beyond Ranil’s controversial London case, two more cases are set to surface in the coming weeks.
One concerns the Yahapalana-era leasing of Sabitha Perera’s massive Rajagiriya building to the Ministry of Agriculture—an inflated deal worth crores. Though Duminda Dissanayake’s name first surfaced, investigators now point to Ranil as the mastermind. The other links to the so-called “Smart Board Project” for schools, during Ranil’s presidency, where fresh evidence reveals his direct hand in a corruption scandal of staggering proportions.
The Ghost may keep playing tricks, but with court files piling up, it seems the tables are being pulled from under him.
News Plants commences
However, even though the Suttara Ghost has set his sights on the UNP leadership and is playing every game he knows to break the UNP-SJB alliance, it is said that other UNP leaders such as General Secretary Thalatha, Deputy Leader Ruwan, and Ravi are of the view that the two parties should unite at this very moment. It is also said that their stance is that the matter should be done with Opposition Leader Sajith at the forefront.
After receiving bail, Ranil spent 3 days in the Intensive Care Unit of the National Hospital. Steps were taken to transfer Ranil to a general ward last Friday morning. But the most special incident that was witnessed on Friday was that the hospital authorities had taken steps to discharge Ranil, who was said to be in a very difficult and sick condition.
Ranil left for his home as usual on Friday afternoon. Accordingly, many people thought that Ranil would unite with Sajith and do politics in harmony, as happened in the past few days. But instead, something completely different happened. That is, as soon as Ranil returned home after discharged, the UNP demons had started a campaign to attack Sajith by planting news as usual.
This group took steps to renew the mud that was thrown at Sajith in October last year. At that time, these same groups had accused Sajith of using Housing Authority employees to work in Sajith’s wife’s salon. steps were taken to start the same accusation again in a new round and report it on various websites on the very day Ranil returned home after discharging from hospital. It was said that the same accusations had been made against Sajith under the public property. It was also stated that a complaint had been received by the Bribery Commission in this regard.
Also, on the Friday that Ranil came out, an opposition party leaders’ meeting was scheduled to be held at the UNP party office in ‘Malpara’ under the leadership of Ranil. Accordingly, it appears that Ranil and the demons in the UNP are preparing again to attack Sajith in their usual way and to disrupt the broad opposition alliance being formed under the leadership of the SJB.
