Cabinet Secretary took instructions from Basil: Udaya

• Basil Rajapaksa would shake his head to approve or reject a Cabinet paper

 By Easwaran Rutnam

 The Cabinet Secretary under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took instructions from the then Minister Basil Rajapaksa and not the President, a former Minister revealed. 

 Former Minister Udaya Gammanpila told Daily Mirror in an interview that the Cabinet Secretary would look at Basil Rajapaksa for instructions during Cabinet meetings.
 He alleged that when a Cabinet paper is presented for approval, the Cabinet Secretary would look at the then Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

 Gammanpila claimed that Basil Rajapaksa would shake his head to approve or reject a Cabinet paper and the Cabinet Secretary would oblige.

 Udaya Gammanpila, who was a Minister in Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Cabinet, accused the former President of being a puppet under the control of Basil Rajapaksa.
 “Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the de jure President but Basil Rajapaksa was the de facto President,” he said.

  Gammanpila said that he was disappointed that Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not meet the expectations of the voters and those who campaigned for him at the last Presidential election.