MR asked to pay Rs 4.6 million in house rent
President criticizes ex-president’s privileges
Former president combines two houses into one
President’s speech sparks sympathy for Mahinda
Ranil exposed for spreading excessive lies
SJB–UNP coalition talks hang in the balance
Party supports president’s speech, while others criticize
A Rajapaksa son faces legal trouble
International arrest warrant issued for Ranil
Anura lashes out
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s controversial speech in Kalutara last Tuesday has once again drawn significant public attention. Far from being an ordinary address, it was a strategically crafted statement aimed at addressing growing dissatisfaction with the recently elected government. The JVP appears to have viewed the speech as a temporary solution to counter the diminishing public trust in their administration, using it as a calculated effort to deflect criticism. The timing of the address, shortly after the President’s visit to China, added to its strategic nature.
Although the event was originally planned as a gathering for JVP members, the President’s decision to avoid a public servants’ forum or a more open audience raises questions about possible concerns over backlash or propriety.
The speech came in the context of mounting frustration among voters who supported the Compass party, fueled by unmet promises on issues like combating corruption, resolving rice shortages, and addressing the cost of essentials like coconuts and salt. The party’s repeated losses in cooperative elections at the village level further underscored this dissatisfaction, compelling the JVP to resort to such a high-profile political maneuver.
Political address
Notably, this was the President’s first explicitly political address since assuming office. While he touched on several key issues—such as prosecuting thieves, fulfilling campaign promises, bringing recent murderers to justice, and offering public relief—the highlight was his sharp criticism of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The President’s remarks about Mahinda’s occupation of the official residence on Wijerama Mawatha became a focal point in both traditional and social media.
For the first time, the President disclosed that the government had appraised the residence, determining its monthly rent (excluding the land) to be Rs. 4.6 million. He clarified that, under current law, Mahinda is entitled to a housing allowance of Rs. 30,000 (one-third of his pension) and must pay the balance if he wishes to continue residing there. This revelation sparked widespread discussion and underscored the President’s intent to address public concerns about accountability and fairness.
We predicted this
The news that the President had appraised Mahinda’s house was revealed to the country on Tuesday, for the first time by ‘Mawrata’ newspaper for the first time three weeks ago. At that time, ‘Mawrata’ newspaper revealed through the main headline on the front page that government appraisers had entered Mahinda’s house. The revelation we made through the ‘Mawrata’ front page on December 29th is as follows.
‘It has been learned that a group of officials from the Survey Department have arrived at the official house of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa located on Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo last week and have commenced surveying.
It is said that the officials from the Survey Department have commenced surveying the official house of the former President after information was reported that in addition to the official house provided to the former President, another official house belonging to the government has been annexed to it.
In addition, the Survey Department is also planning to conduct a survey of the official residence on Paget Road, where another former President, Maithripala Sirisena, resides, within the next few days.
Two in one
This is due to allegations that the former President has combined two official residences to form a single residence.
Accordingly, it is understood that further action is being taken in this regard if the information is confirmed in any way.
However, although the President and the JVP had planned to gain some political advantage through this speech, there is a strong question as to whether they were able to take advantage of the speech claiming of throwing Mahinda out of the house; however it is debatable whether this became popular on social media, as they intended.
It was noted that many parties representing the government criticized the speech made by the President that day and his tone and expressed their opinions to the media. Some pointed out that the attack made by the President targeting Mahinda had given a great boost to the Pohottuwa, which had fallen on all fours, as if a sleeping elephant had suddenly been woken up.
Pohottuwa took this statement made by the President and carried out a great propaganda, saying that the government was preparing to throw out the ‘commander who won the war’ and the ‘leader who saved the country’ from the house. For these reasons, even hardliners who had been expressing opinions against the Rajapaksa family for some time now expressed sympathetic views on social media regarding this matter.
Mahinda decides to leave
After this statement made by the President in the afternoon, Mahinda’s official residence on Wijerama Mawatha was seen to be in a state of unease. Since the evening, various groups had come to Mahinda’s house and held discussions with him. Among them were senior party leaders, leaders of other minor parties, youth groups of the party, professionals, and lawyers.
Holding meetings after meetings at Mahinda’s house, they discussed what action should be taken against it if the government tried to evict Mahinda from the house. At that time, many lawyers pointed out to Mahinda that since this was a political speech made by the President on a political platform, he should inform the government to inform them officially in writing about the statement. Same afternoon, the information about this decision taken at Mahinda’s house was also reported to the ‘Inside politics’ column. Accordingly, we revealed the news to the country on our website, which is Mawrata news, as a special news item on the same evening.
Sympathy to MR
In addition, the next advantage that the Pohottuwa got through the President’s speech was that the minor party leaders who had separated from the Pohottuwa in the past came forward to stand for Mahinda after some time. At the forefront of this were none other than Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila. It is a fact that everyone accepts that when Wimal was with Mahinda, Mahinda and the Pohottuwa shone with Wimal’s eloquence, and with Wimal’s departure, Mahinda and the Pohottuwa also began to collapse. Accordingly, Wimal, who came out after some time, directly said that treating the Commander-in-Chief who ended the war in this way was political revenge.
Political revenge
Gammanpila also called a media conference and said that treating Mahinda in this way was absolutely unacceptable. Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, who is in Parliament representing Ranil’s cylinder, also expressed his views in Parliament on this matter and said that it is inappropriate to treat Mahinda in this manner and that there are plenty of people who would provide him with a house if Mahinda is dragged out of his house. In addition, after the President’s speech, which was made by SLFP representatives such as Duminda Dissanayake, had become a kind of a disaster for the government within a few hours.
Tilvin defend AKD
However, many people are of the opinion that this attack targeting Mahinda cannot be considered a decision taken by the President alone. Three weeks ago, we brought a special report through the ‘Inside Politics’ column and said that while there was some pressure from society against the government, heated discussions were held almost daily until the wee hours of the morning at the party headquarters in Pelawatte. Accordingly, some people are now pointing out that it is possible to think that the attack on Mahinda was carried out in accordance with a decision taken during those heated debates. This was further confirmed when, following the President’s statement, various sections of society expressed their views against it, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva came out after a long time and defended the President.
Govt. chief whip defends president
While Tilvin justified the President’s position from outside Parliament, it was Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake and the Chief Organizer of the Government Party Nalinda Jayatissa who had taken the responsibility of confirming the President’s speech inside Parliament. At that time, Nalinda Jayatissa clearly stated that there was nothing to say and that Mahinda should leave the house if he did not wait until someone said something. Accordingly, it seemed that this attack on the part of the government was part of the underlying plan.
Mahinda enters the fray
While the JVP justified the President’s speech in this way, Mahinda and Namal took steps to make two special statements in this regard on Wednesday. Namal clearly stated that the government has started taking revenge on Mahinda and that Mahinda is ready to leave the official residence if the government informs him in writing. Namal also told the media that he can take care of his father as a child. Mahinda also made a special statement to the media after some time, stating that the President has forgotten that he is Mahinda Rajapaksa and that he is ready to leave the official residence as soon as he informs him in writing. These are the comments Mahinda made to the media.
‘I am Mahinda Rajapaksa’
‘President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is forgetting that I am Mahinda Rajapaksa. Although it is good to mislead the citizens as he did with his speeches and his false election promises, I would like to inform the President that I am willing to leave my official residence if he sends me a written request. I got this house on Wijerama Mawatha after a cabinet paper approval under former President Maithripala Sirisena and as a President who led the country for 10 years during the most brutal times.’
‘Instead of providing relief to the common people, President Dissanayake indulges in his public relations stunts and goes on stage to criticize former Presidents by showing them their security and houses, this is a play to the gallery to avoid talking about his own failures.’
‘I have always been a politician and leader who has worked for the nation. From ending the war to bringing development, today the country is benefiting from the development I brought during my tenure as President. My successors criticized my efforts to end the war and the development projects I signed. Some even resorted to stopping these projects, which severely hampered investor confidence.’
Demand an official request
‘I have seen everything from political revenge to harassment. If President Dissanayake feels that my official residence should be taken away from me, I am ready to go. I am not holding anything back. He should send me an official request…’ Mahinda had said to the media.
However, the government did not respond to the request made by Mahinda and all the members of the Pohottuwa to officially release the President’s statement as per the legal instructions received from above. Accordingly, it was seen that the legal instructions received to release the President’s statement in writing worked to the hilt.
The 52-day conspiracy
However, this is not the first time that political turmoil has occurred on official residences. Previously, a similar major incident that led to a coup d’état based on an official residence took place during the Yahapalana government. This incident that took place in October 2018 is known in the political field as the 52-day conspiracy. Then President Maithripala Sirisena, who had removed Ranil Wickremesinghe, from the official Prime Minister of the Good Governance Government, took steps to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was the Leader of the Opposition, as the new Prime Minister.
At that time, Ranil was conducting his official activities as Prime Minister from Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister. After being removed from the post of Prime Minister, Ranil decided to hand over his belongings and leave Temple Trees, but senior ministers in the government at the time pointed out to Ranil that since this action taken by Maithripala was illegal, legal action should be taken against it, and that he should not give up Temple Trees until then and occupy it.
Regain PM position
Accordingly, all the MPs and ministers led the fight to regain the Prime Minister’s position, led by Ranil, from Temple Trees. Steps were also taken to hold a political meeting in front of Temple Trees for the first time in history. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled that making Mahinda the Prime Minister was illegal and that Ranil Wickremesinghe had the right to fuction as the Prime Minister legally.
Mahinda must have decided to fight for it without leaving the official residence, keeping that past example in mind. Legal advice had also been received that neither the government ministers nor the president could remove the former president from the official residence, and that the constitution itself guaranteed that former presidents would be given an official residence.
Legal action
Accordingly, the lawyers had informed Mahinda that if the government acted against it, legal action should be taken. In addition to that plan, several other alternative plans had been made by Mahinda. One of the alternative plans was that if the government was ready to forcibly remove Mahinda from the official residence, the people would take to the streets and fight against it. In addition, several other plans had been made, and they had discussed keeping them only within the Rajapaksa family.
A Rajapaksa son is in trouble
In addition, last week, we saw the background being prepared to confirm another news that we revealed to the country about a month ago. That was based on Namal Rajapaksa. About a month ago, we made a special disclosure in this column and said that a plan to arrest Namal Rajapaksa was underway. Last week, the necessary foundation was laid through a well-known businessman, Nimal Perera. Last week, we revealed this to the country for the first time through the column, saying that Nimal Perera, a millionaire businessman living in Australia, was preparing to come to Sri Lanka and give a statement against Namal.
Airbus deal
That was based on the French Airbus deal that was made during the Rajapaksa regime. Last week, we reported how Nimal Perera had left a text message to Namal informing him of this, and how Namal responded by saying ‘Thank you very much’.
In addition to that incident, the Bribery Commission had taken steps to reopen an investigation against Namal based on another well-known incident. That was based on the KRISH project, the construction of which was started and then stopped in the Pettah area of Colombo. A case is currently being heard in court regarding this, and last week, the police reported to the court that the Bribery Commission had also reopened an investigation on this transaction.
Namal in court
Accordingly, Namal, who appeared before the court last week, told the media that the current government had resumed a political hunt like during the Yahapalana government. Namal also indicated that a plan was underway to imprison him, confirming the news we published on the ‘inside politics’ column a month ago.
However, this time this column is ready to reveal another new piece of information to the country in this regard. That is the news that the security forces have initiated a special investigation into a son of another Rajapaksa family, not Mahinda’s family. This Rajapaksa son, who is also an American citizen, is said to have held several positions during the previous Rajapaksa government.
Accordingly, the ‘Inside politics’ column learn that the name of this Rajapaksa son is also set to come out in the next few days based on several other controversial transactions. Although there is no officially confirmed information, it is learned that the name of this Rajapaksa son has also been mentioned through a special statement given to the security forces last week. Along with that revelation, this column has also heard that a lengthy discussion was held in this regard during a special discussion held at the home of a powerful Rajapaksa.
Namal is also ready
However, after appearing in court, Namal returned home and then went straight to the Pohottu party office. There, Namal discussed with number of parties including lawyers. In a discussion held with the electoral organizers, Namal pointed out that there is a possibility that Pohottu will gain a big advantage in the upcoming local government elections, and the government is planning to remand him knowing that. There was also a lengthy discussion regarding the conduct of the election campaign if he is imprisoned.
There was also a lengthy exchange of views on who will conduct the election campaign and how to do it. Namal further pointed out that the village level Pohottuwa members who have already voted for Malimawa are very disappointed about it, and that a program should be launched to bring those votes back from Malimawa. Surveys have also shown that these disappointed voters’ first look to the Pohottuwa and then to other parties, Namal pointed out to the group, and pointed out that the UNP will never be able to get those votes. Namal also pointed out to the group that there has been a tendency for some disappointed Pohottuwa members not to vote for anyone in this year’s LG-election.
Ranil’s latest game plan
Another strong topic in the political arena is the news that the UNP and the SJB are merging. About a month ago, we reported on this issue through the ‘Inside Politics’ column, which contained a number of extraordinary information that no other media had reported. We pointed out that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had created the topic of this UNP-SJB marriege with several other issues in mind, including the destruction of the SJB.
We pointed out that its main objective was to prevent the SJB from establishing itself as a party at the village level in this local government election, and its next objective was to prevent the emergence of SJB MPs at the village level. Since the UNP has now completely disappeared after the last general election, we revealed that another part of Ranil’s plan was to use a different name and symbol to wash away the SJB at the village level.
Delaying tactics
Accordingly, this time we are ready to reveal to the country about other games that Ranil has planned during the UNP-SJB talks through this column. The contract that Ranil has given to the group nominated by the UNP for the talks is to drag out the talks by showing that this tension is happening as much as possible. One of Ranil’s plans is to prevent the SJB from organizing to face the local government elections alone through this. After that, Ranil’s next goal is to break a group of 10 to 15 SJB MPs into the UNP at the last moment.
Official talks in Kandy
This was learned by the ‘Inside Politics’ column from the facts that were discussed during a discussion held at the house of a certain UNP strongman in Kandy last weekend before the UNP-SJB talks officially began. This UNP strongman is a very close friend of Ranil and a close friend of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
There have been several discussions at the house of this powerful person regarding this, and it has been said that the SJB name and logo should be removed in the first round itself. However, since the SJB, realizing this game that Ranil was trying to play, rejected it at the first opportunity, the UNP’s plan is now to drag out the discussions as much as possible and bring 10 to 15 of its MPs to the UNP in order to push the SJB to defeat at the last moment. It is understood that discussions have been held there that the UNP will gain an advantage through this and the President’s victory will be confirmed.
List of MPs
There was also a lengthy discussion regarding the SJB MPs who could be brought into the UNP. For this, Ranil had also given this UNP strongman a special list of names. The list of names included SJB MPs who were accused of taking bar licenses from Ranil during the previous government. It also included the names of a number of MPs who had received crores of rupees in decentralized funds from Ranil. It was said that these MPs could be brought into the UNP when necessary, and that Ranil had a plan for how to take them if they were reluctant to do so. Accordingly, we believe that the relevant UNP strongman has certainly informed the President of all this information.
Fake news
However, we have pointed out on several occasions in the ‘inside politics’ column that Ranil does not do politics with the people but through ‘Lankadeepa’ newspaper owned by his uncle and cousin. Accordingly, while Ranjith Maddumabandara and Thalatha Athukorala, the General Secretaries of both parties, had set a date for the UNP-SJB unity talks last Wednesday, Ranil had taken steps to convene a UNP Working Committee meeting that same evening. At that meeting, the UNP had decided that if the UNP and SJB merge, the SJB should agree to contest the upcoming local government elections under the United National Front.
Unity talks
In fact, there is no alliance called the United National Front. In 2001, the group including G.L. Peiris, S.B. Dissanayake, who came out after overthrowing Chandrika’s government, contested the snap general election held that year under the banner of the United National Front under the elephant symbol. Accordingly, on Wednesday, while the UNP-SJB talks were scheduled for the night at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo, Ranil deliberately took steps in the evening to publish the news on his family’s ‘Lankadeepa’ website that the SJB should contest under this United National Front.
Through this, it was clear that a UNP-SJB unity was not the aim of Ranil. However, some political cronies in the SJB still think that whoever the leader is, whatever the color, whatever the symbol, the UNP and the SJB should unite. However, these political cronies have not yet understood that Ranil’s plan is to completely destroy the SJB through this.
Similarly, before the UNP-SJB talks began, the SJB Working Committee also met under the chairmanship of Sajith at the Opposition Leader’s Office. After that discussion, some MPs were seen giving voice cuts to the media and talking highly of the UNP-SJB unity. But even then, they did not know a single word about the news that had been published on the ‘Lankadeepa’ website by Ranil. But only one MP present there knew very well about Ranil’s game. That was Hesha Withanage of Ratnapura. Accordingly, while the other MPs were leaving after talking nonsense in front of the media, Hesha clearly stated that the SJB had not joined the UNP and that the UNP should join the SJB and join the political alliance formed under the SJB symbol.
Pease talks
However, that night, the UNP and the SJB met at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel and began peace talks. The discussion was mostly about general issues. The group decided to appoint two more subcommittees for future discussions and to meet again to discuss this issue. However, Ranil’s fraction stated decision was made that everyone should contest from the UNP front in a discussion with Ranil, but an important decision that no one knew about was also taken at the SJB working committee meeting. That is, that the SJB should contest under the Samagi Jana Sandhya in the upcoming local government elections and that everyone should form an alliance under the symbol of the telephone. It is also learned that the SJB working committee had received an unanimous approval for this.
Arrest Warrant on Ranil
Meanwhile, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe is reportedly planning to leave for London later this month to travel to Oman. After that, Ranil is also scheduled to leave for London. Unofficial sources say that this is a personal visit by Ranil. However, with the reports that Ranil is preparing to come to London, two international human rights organizations are reportedly working to obtain an arrest warrant against him. Their main allegation is that Ranil was involved in the infamous Batalanda torture camp in the late 1980s.
Their warrant is based on the ‘principle of universal jurisdiction’, a legal principle that allows courts in some countries, including the United Kingdom, to prosecute individuals for serious international crimes such as torture.The move is similar to the case of the arrest in London in 1998 under universal jurisdiction for the crimes of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
Anura to UAE
While Ranil is planning to leave for Oman and London, the President is preparing to go to the United Arab Emirates as his next visit. This is a visit between two states, and it is learned that the President is preparing to discuss ways to find out how to get fuel at low prices for the country. It is also learned that the President has planned to return to Sri Lanka after that visit and visit several other Middle Eastern countries. The President’s visit to middle east was first revealed to the country at a political meeting held in Kalutara last Tuesday. Although the President announced this for the first time in Kalutara, the ‘Inside politics’ column was first revealed to the country on October 15th last year. It is as follows.
‘President to Middle East’
By now, everyone is waiting to see what the new President’s foreign policy will be like. There has been a lot of talk in the political arena, especially regarding the country the President will visit first. The general tradition is that when a new President or Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is elected, the first thing he does is visit India, a powerful country in the region and a neighbor. After the President was elected, Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar came to Sri Lanka and extended an official invitation to the President to visit India. The President had also taken steps to accept Jaishankar’s invitation.
But in the meantime, since the day the President came to power, several special rounds of talks had been held with several Middle Eastern countries. Information available to this column indicates that the main mediator in these talks that the Compass government is holding with several Middle Eastern countries is a high-ranking Sri Lankan professor who is loyal to Compass and is recognized worldwide and lives in a Western country. Despite living in a Western country, this Sri Lankan professor is said to have special connections with Middle Eastern countries. Accordingly, through the intervention of this professor, government leaders are discussing with Middle Eastern countries about obtaining cheap oil.
Fuel Imports
A speech made by the President the other day also stated that high-level discussions have already begun between Sri Lanka and other countries regarding fuel imports. Accordingly, through the intervention of this professor, several rounds of discussions have been held regarding obtaining cheap fuel for Sri Lanka. If these discussions are successful, it will not only be a big victory for Sri Lanka, but the government can also achieve a big victory through providing cheap fuel.
Accordingly, an unofficial source currently being discussed in the political arena says that the President will most likely visit the Middle East as his first visit after the formation of the new government to make this oil deal successful. Currently, these discussions are taking place with three Middle Eastern countries, and it is said that the President will most likely visit one of them first. If that happens, the President is expected to choose the Middle East as his first visit, and India as his second, according to unofficial sources. If that happens, the President will sign this oil import agreement in the Middle East as his first agreement. On the other hand, if such a thing happens, it will also be possible to see the end of the tradition of visiting India, which has been brought forward by Sri Lankan Presidents and Prime Ministers so far.
Police Commission meets President
The President recently launched a rather severe attack on the Independent Police Commission in his political speech in Kalutara. The President said that the officers who led the ongoing investigations should be recalled in order to continue actively, and that although the approval of the Police Commission should be obtained for this, the Commission is reluctant to grant it.
Similarly, the President had previously launched a strong attack targeting the Attorney General’s Department. In it, the President said that the Attorney General’s Department had not properly fulfilled its responsibility in some cases. Due to this, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe and other Attorney General’s Department officials had taken steps to meet the President and inform the President about the progress of the investigations being conducted, the problems that had arisen in those investigations, and the serious lapses that had been committed by the police.
Talks were amicable
After President’s public attack on the Police Commission, the officers of the Commission took steps to request an appointment to meet the President. Accordingly, the President granted them an appointment. The Commission Chairman and other officials, who went to meet the President at the appointed time with a heap of files, pointed out to the President one by one the difficulties that had arisen in transferring the police officers. After pointing out certain shortcomings in them to the President in detail, President was satisfied with their response. The discussion held with the officials of the Attorney General’s Department as well as the discussion held with the officials of the Police Commission ended very amicably, reported by the ‘inside politics’ column.
Another lie exposed
Last week, the Ranil-aligned Lankadeepa newspaper published a story claiming that a millionaire businessman had allegedly paid 50 crores to a party leader in exchange for a parliamentary seat. According to the article, the businessman visited the party’s headquarters last week to demand his money back after failing to secure the promised national list seat. The report pointed fingers at Lankeshwara Mithrapala, the owner of New Ratna Sahal and a member of the SJB national list, suggesting he was involved in the incident.
However, several media outlets sought clarification from Mithrapala himself. He denied any involvement, categorically stating that he had not participated in such an incident or visited a party office in the manner described.
Additionally, inquiries were made with SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara and Pohottuwa Managing Secretary Renuka Perera. Both denied the occurrence of any such incident in their respective party offices and confirmed that the claims published in ‘Lankadeepa‘ were entirely baseless.
