Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) D.E.W. Gunasekera said today that the Deputy Justice Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe had to withdraw the enjoining order that prevented the publication or circulation of the COPE subcommittee draft report on the sale of Central Bank Bonds in fear of the statement made by Prof. G.L. Peiris recently.

Mr. Gunasekara said Prof. Peris had revealed in a news briefing that the COPE report would be submitted to the police when some of the UPFA MPs who were noticed gave statements.

“Sujeewa was frightened that we would submit the report with the statements. If we did so it would be a public document. Sujeewa is in trouble as he followed the instructions of his Minister,” he said.

Mr. Gunasekara said that it was Mr. Senasinghe who first spoke about the COPE report outside parliament and that it was a week later that they spoke about it.

“Sujeewa did it to gain an advantage at the election campaign by talking about the bond issue. But he has fallen in trouble today,” he said. (Ajith Siriwardana)

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