Accident, Not Politics: Chandrika’s Fall Brings Daughter Home
Ranil Sets New Political Records in Sri Lanka
SJB Settles Disputes; Chaminda Shown the Door
Sajith Strengthens Foreign Ties with Singapore Visit
CID Intensifies Probes as Political Drama Unfolds
Chandrika’s Housing Dilemma
Among the compelling campaign promises that propelled Anura Kumara Dissanayake to presidential victory was his pledge to eliminate the extensive privileges enjoyed by former presidents. True to his word, the government has drafted comprehensive legislation targeting these long-standing benefits, including official residences, generous pensions, security details, office facilities, and various other allowances that previous heads of state had grown accustomed to receiving.
As this legislation took shape, our ‘Inside Politics’ column exclusively revealed several weeks ago that former presidents were mobilizing to protect their interests through various channels of influence.
A Letter of Negotiation
The most notable response came from former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who moved swiftly once news of the privilege cuts became public. She dispatched a carefully worded letter to the Presidential Committee investigating the reduction of former presidents’ privileges, proposing what appeared to be a reasonable compromise.
In her correspondence, Chandrika offered to rent the government’s official Torrington residence—which had been her home since leaving office—back to the state at what she characterized as “a reasonable price,” provided the property would eventually be returned to her.
A Diplomatic Rejection
The committee’s response, delivered last week, was polite but firm. Officials explained that all former presidential residences would be reclaimed under the government’s new policy framework and subsequently put out to competitive tender. The letter clarified that these properties would be awarded to the highest qualified bidder for appropriate use, and that Chandrika was welcome to participate in this open bidding process like any other interested party.
This formal rejection reportedly left the former president visibly disappointed, marking a significant shift in her post-presidential circumstances
Medical Situation Emerges
Recent developments have revealed challenges faced by Chandrika following the government’s notification regarding tender procedures for continued residence occupancy.According to sources, Chandrika sustained injuries in a fall at a wellness facility in Colombo 07, resulting in hip damage that required immediate medical attention. She was subsequently admitted to a private hospital in Colombo 08.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and longtime family friend Malik Samarawickrama provided support during this period, consulting with medical professionals regarding her treatment. Doctors recommended immediate surgical intervention due to the severity of the hip injury
Initially hesitant about emergency surgery, Kumaratunga awaited the arrival of her daughter, Dr. Yashodhara Kumaratunga, who travelled from London to assess the medical situation. After consulting with the medical team, Dr. Yashodhara concurred with the surgical recommendation.
The surgery was successfully completed last week, and following a brief recovery period, Chandrika has returned to the Torrington residence. However, with the official handover deadline approaching, she has reportedly secured alternative accommodation—a rental property in Horton Place, Colombo, owned by a relative who formerly held a senior government position.
Sudath predicts
The government has opened a high-profile investigation into former President Ranil Wickremesinghe over his London visit with his wife, Mrs. Maithri Wickremesinghe. Officially, it was tagged onto his UN General Assembly trip to New York — but a complaint alleges the London leg was purely personal, yet funded with public money.
In pursuit of this case, investigators dragged back senior officials from overseas postings. The former Chief Accountant of the Foreign Ministry was recalled from Washington, while the then-Protocol Officer in London was pulled from Singapore. Statements were also recorded from ex-Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake and Ranil’s private secretary Sandra Perera.
Finally, Ranil himself was asked to appear before the CID on Friday. But before the summons even played out, controversy exploded. YouTuber Sudatta Thilakasiri went on air predicting Ranil’s arrest and a 14-day remand — swearing he’d shut down his channel if proven wrong.
That video went viral. Supporters cheered, critics scoffed, but the bigger question began to echo across social media: how could a YouTuber know in advance what only a court could decide?
The opposition wasted no time in pointing to the obvious — when “predictions” match police action, it smells less like justice and more like a script. Once again, the government finds itself accused of turning the law into a political weapon.
Ranil Back in the Record Books — But This Time in Handcuffs
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On Friday morning at 9.30, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe walked into the Criminal Investigation Department to give a statement regarding his controversial London visit. But what unfolded there was anything but routine — the CID placed him under arrest.
Later, he was produced before the Fort Magistrate’s Court. After hours of deliberation that stretched until 10 p.m., the court refused bail and ordered him remanded until the 26th. In an unprecedented scene, Ranil — once the nation’s executive head — was handcuffed and led away by prison officials. For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, a former President was arrested by the CID.
Ranil’s journey has always defied political convention: losing an election, returning through the national list, ascending to the presidency through Parliament — and now, entering history once again as the first ex-President to face arrest.
But the arrest has sparked heated debate, even within government ranks. Some argue that remanding Ranil over a Rs. 60 million London trip is justified. Yet, others point to bigger unaddressed scandals — the Central Bank bond scam and the findings of the Batalanda Commission — and ask why those promises to the people remain unfulfilled.
Behind closed doors, the power struggle grows sharper. Questions are already being whispered: will the weight of responsibility fall on Ranil, or on his then-Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake, who authorized the funds? Sources suggest multiple rounds of intense discussions between the President and his key ministers in recent weeks, with decisions still hanging in the balance.
And here’s the kicker — insiders reveal that this London trip saga is only the beginning. A consensus is emerging within government circles to move decisively against Ranil on the two explosive allegations that have long haunted him: the bond scam and the Batalanda files.
If those cases are filed — and the timing of that move is already under quiet discussion — Sri Lanka’s political landscape could be in for another historic tremor.
Mahinda Out
These days, the main character in the political arena is none other than former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Although Mahinda used to spend a lot of time in solitude at his Wijerama official residence, it has suddenly changed and Mahinda’s official residence has once again become crowded with guests. Wijerama official residence, which was a hive of activity in the past, has now become active again and it can be seen that Mahinda has received a lot of sympathy from party members and is once again in demand. However, in the past, the situation at the Wijerama official residence was completely different.
The reason for this was that even the people who used to be with him to see Mahinda’s sorrows and happiness were no longer there. The information we have suggests that this situation had gone so far that Neville Wanniarachchi, Mahinda’s most trusted security officer for many years, had called some of Mahinda’s friends and asked, ‘Sir is lonely these days. Can you come and have a little chat…?’ and even made phone calls to various people.
However, with the information that Mahinda is also being prepared to be dragged out of his official residence, this situation has completely changed. The reason for this is that the Pohottuwa has been systematically bringing party members from various parts of the country to Colombo and giving it a lot of publicity through the media to show the country how they are meeting Mahinda.
So far, we can see that this publicity program has been successful. After the initial two or three years of hard work and organization, it has now grown naturally to the point where Pohottuwa party members in the villages are coming to Colombo to see Mahinda’s happiness and sorrow.
However, Mahinda is also preparing to leave his official residence in Wijerama, Colombo at any moment. Already, powerful businessmen and known friends of Mahinda have expressed their willingness to give him several houses in Colombo. It is also reported that friends abroad have also called Mahinda and informed him that they can give him their houses in Colombo. It is reported to ‘inside politics ‘column that after listing all those houses, Mahinda has already marked two or three of them and that in the future he will choose a house where he can relax and move in.
Two powerful men will be arrested
In addition, Namal is currently traveling around the country and is engaged in the process of reviving the Pohottuwa. Although the Pohottuwa vote base collapsed to two and a half million in the last general election, Namal was able to increase this vote base by one million in the local government election within 6 months.
Namal is also currently conducting frequent discussions with former leading MPs, ministers and organizers who have left the Pohottuwa and is carrying out a program to bring them back around the Pohottuwa. Accordingly, it is reported to the ‘inside politics’ column that an environment has been created for powerful men such as Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Kanchana Wijesekera and Shehan Semasinghe, who were associated with Ranil in the future, to join the Pohottuwa again.
While Namal is engaged in a campaign to build up the pohottuwa, it is seen that the government is preparing to target the Rajapaksa family with the main weapon used against the Rajapaksa family, the asset search weapon. Information we have indicates that there is a possibility that several serious charges will be brought against two powerful members of the Rajapaksa family by tomorrow.
It is known that the investigation teams have already completed investigations into not only the houses, bank accounts of these two powerful young men of the Rajapaksa family, but also all the assets of their wives. It is also known to this column that these investigations are currently moving towards a very sharp end. Accordingly, it is known that within the next few weeks, a situation will arisen in which these two powerful members of the Rajapaksa family will be prosecuted on serious corruption charges.
Cases against Ranil’s people too
In addition to the investigations being conducted against the Rajapaksa family, several serious investigations have also been initiated by the investigation departments against several people who were close to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The information we have there says that the investigation into the assets of a very powerful person who was close to Ranil is currently being carried out in a very severe manner, and many major revelations have been revealed by the investigation teams through it. In addition to that powerful person, several special investigations are currently being carried out on the assets of other friends of Ranil such as Vajira Abeywardena, Manusha Nanayakkara, Vadivel Suresh, and it is also known that something big is expected to happen in that regard soon. Accordingly, many people are of the opinion that the fate of many who worked with Ranil will be similar to the fate that befell Mahindananda and Nalin Fernando.
Mahinda’s secret visit
One of the biggest achievements of the country in recent times that everyone has accepted without any doubt was the reduction of the 44% tariff imposed on Sri Lanka by the Trump government to 20%. Although ministers within the government, such as Nalinda Jayatissa and Wasantha Samarasinghe downplayed this achievement and commented on the role of Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US, Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, who had done a great job behind the scenes in reducing the tariff, the President was seen publicly praising him on two occasions. Not only the President, but the entire country accepted that having an experienced diplomat like Mahinda Samarasinghe as the US Ambassador was the biggest success behind that achievement.
While everyone was talking about Trump’s tariff, something that no one knew happened last week. That was Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe secretly arrived in Sri Lanka for 3 days without telling anyone. According to information received from third parties, Mahinda Samarasinghe has suddenly arrived in Sri Lanka to meet the President.
Last week, in this column, we made a special disclosure about the promises made by Sri Lanka to get Trump’s tariffs reduced. There, we said that these two to three months will be a very critical period for the government in fulfilling those conditions. We said that the challenge has arisen now, and that gas and oil, etc., should be purchased from the United States within these two to three months as promised.
Accordingly, the information we have indicates that Mahinda Samarasinghe has suddenly arrived in Sri Lanka and engaged in discussions with the President in this regards. We are told that the discussion was extremely secret and extremely private, and that at least no minister or official from the government side participated in it, and that this discussion was held face to face between the President and Mahinda only.
Therefore, no information has been reported to us so far about what transpired in the relevant discussion. However, it can be clearly stated here that a very decisive exchange of views has taken place between the two regarding the American tax and future work.
However, information has not yet been reported on what agreements were reached between the two and what points were rejected. Airport sources had also reported that after the relevant meeting, Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe left for America the very next day. However, it is also reported that after Mahinda’s departure, a special discussion took place between the President and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.
Is the Japan Trip Another “Germany Episode”?
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to travel to New York next month to address the UN General Assembly — a routine engagement for world leaders. What is not so routine, however, is what comes immediately after: a direct flight to Japan.
And here begins the political storm. Is this a state visit at the invitation of the Japanese government, or yet another questionable foreign jaunt cloaked in ambiguity?
The memory of Germany still lingers. During that trip, instead of meeting the German Chancellor — the true head of government — the President only met the nominal head of state. Critics argued the visit looked less like official diplomacy and more like a backdoor meeting with the Tamil diaspora. The government never fully clarified, and the controversy has remained an open wound in diplomatic circles.
Now Japan is raising similar doubts. Traditionally, an official visit would include meetings with both the Japanese Prime Minister and the Emperor. Anything less would confirm suspicions that the trip is not state business but political maneuvering. After all, Japan has been one of Sri Lanka’s most generous partners in aid and development. To bypass its leadership would be a diplomatic slight of the highest order.
Insiders claim the truth is even more politically charged. According to information we’ve received, the President’s trip is being organized not through official channels but by the long-standing JVP branch in Japan — a group that has been financing the party since the 1980s. If so, this would mean the visit is essentially a party event masquerading as statecraft. No meetings with the Prime Minister, no courtesy call on the Emperor — just a gathering with party loyalists abroad.
If the government does not come clean, the Japan trip risks becoming “Germany Part Two” — another foreign tour that damages credibility at home and abroad, while raising serious questions about whether the President is using state resources for partisan gain.
Trouble in the SJB
The SJB is a party that has different characters emerging from time to time. Sometimes its heroes are the ‘osthars’ wearing western attire. At other times, there are heroes in the SJB who shout and wear national costumes. At other times, there are also MPs who try to become heroes by attacking the party leader and seniors of the party.
One such character that emerges from time to time is Chaminda Wijesiri, a Badulla District MP. Last week, Chaminda Wijesiri came to the fore again and launched a strong attack targeting the SJB and its leaders.
This is not the first time that Chaminda Wijesiri has expressed his views against the SJB seniors in this way. After the previous local government elections, Chaminda Wijesiri had launched a massive attack on the SJB in the same way when the SJB decided not to nominate his brother, who had lost in that election, to the Pradeshiya Sabha from the list.
At that time, the SJB, which was facing its first local government election, had decided in advance not to nominate any losers to the Pradeshiya Sabha from the list. Also, not to send relatives and friends of political families to the council from the list. However, after the local government elections, Ranjith Aluvihare, Bandulal Bandarigoda, Chaminda Wijesiri and others revolted within the party against that policy and insisted on nominating their defeated relatives and friends.
However, the party stood by its decision to send the candidates who received the next highest number of preferential votes to the council from the list, as had been decided. The best example of this was the incident that occurred in the Colombo Municipal Council. Since the SJB mayoral candidate for Colombo lost his constituency, the SJB did not take steps to nominate him to the Municipal Council, at least not from the list. Accordingly, in light of the crisis that arose, the SJB had decided to postpone the relevant appointments by a few months.
Chaminda out
Accordingly, last week, when SJB leader Sajith was on a visit to Singapore, the SJB seniors, who met under the leadership of party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, had decided to fill the relevant vacancies.
The SJB had taken steps to provide an opportunity to the candidates who were at the forefront of the relevant divisions in accordance with the decision taken by the party earlier. The result was that Chaminda Wijesiri once again called a media conference and attacked the SJB and the SJB seniors. From the information we have it says that Chaminda Wijesiri had even engaged in a severe verbal attack with party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara.
Accordingly, Ranjith and the people present in that discussion had immediately taken steps to report this to Sajith who was in Singapore through a Zoom discussion. Accordingly, the SJB has now decided to take disciplinary action against all individuals who attack the party, attack the party leadership, or criticize the party’s policies, regardless of rank, and to implement the decisions taken by the party in the same manner. It is also learned that the party has now taken a firm decision to start it with Chaminda Wijesiri himself.
It is also learned that there have been lengthy discussions regarding Kavinda Jayawardena, who went beyond the party’s policies and made a deal with former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. It was reported in the past that Kavinda Jayawardena had planned to break away from a group of SJB MPs and get close to Ranil, especially during the last presidential election, and that discussions had been held in this regard at several places. Accordingly, it is learned that the SJB has now decided to take disciplinary action against him as well.
Sajith ‘s Singapore Visit
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa recently completed a private visit to Singapore, marking his return to international travel after an extended period. The trip has reignited discussions about the comparative international standing of Sri Lanka’s political leaders.
Critics have previously questioned Sajith’s international connections, suggesting that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe possessed superior diplomatic relationships and greater access to foreign assistance. These observers argued that Wickremesinghe was uniquely positioned to secure international support and maintain global political relationships.
However, this assessment of Wickremesinghe’s international influence appears questionable when examined against his actual record. During his presidency, Wickremesinghe claimed access to $4 billion in Japanese funding, yet his administration failed to secure significant new financial commitments from international partners. The primary external funding received during his tenure consisted of pre-existing International Monetary Fund loan installments that had been negotiated under the previous Rajapaksa administration.
Wickremesinghe’s own diplomatic challenges were evident during his visit to Singapore, where, despite considerable official and unofficial efforts, he was unable to secure a meeting with Singapore’s Prime Minister or other senior government officials.
This context makes Premadasa’s recent Singapore visit particularly noteworthy, as it suggests a potential shift in the opposition leader’s international engagement strategy.
Demonstrates Strong Diplomatic Foundations
In contrast to previous diplomatic challenges faced by other Sri Lankan leaders, Sajith Premadasa’s recent Singapore visit yielded substantial high-level engagements with government officials and policy experts, leveraging relationships that trace back to his father’s presidency.
The foundation for these connections was established during R. Premadasa’s tenure as President, when Singapore-Sri Lanka relations were cultivated at the highest levels. Many Singaporean officials who worked closely during that period have since ascended to senior government positions, while others have transitioned to influential roles in academia and policy institutes. Sajith has maintained these relationships over the decades, creating a valuable diplomatic network.
The visit commenced with a substantive meeting with Kishore Mahbubani, Singapore’s distinguished former diplomat and founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Mahbubani, who previously served as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and twice held the presidency of the UN Security Council, engaged in extensive discussions with Sajith at the Asian Research Institute. Their dialogue covered critical areas including policy formulation, governance frameworks, and regional peacebuilding initiatives.
Sajith’s itinerary also included a visit to the Singapore Civil Service College, the nation’s premier institution for public sector capacity building and administrative training. This was followed by meetings at Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information, where he engaged with senior officials on contemporary governance challenges.
A particularly significant aspect of the visit was Sajith’s meeting with Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K. Shanmugam, representing a notable level of ministerial access that underscores the strength of existing diplomatic relationships.
