Opposition MPs invited for onboard party at Colombo Port: State Minister

• Says media has given undue publicity for the tour

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

Opposition MPs were also invited to the recent tour to Colombo Port for the dinner which was held after the event, State Minister of Ports Premalal Jayasekara informed Parliament yesterday.

“Some MPs requested that they be allowed to tour the Eastern and Western terminals of Colombo Port. Therefore, I arranged an inspection tour. I sent an invitation to opposition MPs through WhatsApp so that they could also come and view developments,” the state minister said.

“The tour was to begin at 4.30 pm, but we had to reschedule the tour to 5.30 pm as there was a vote in Parliament on that day. The vote was an unscheduled one. We did provide tea and dinner for the MPs. This is natural as visitors obviously have to be entertained,” he said.
“Even the Minister of Transport will be compelled to organize a tour to the railways department if a request is made by MPs or anyone else,” he added.

While stating that the media has given undue publicity for the tour, he said legislation that would be enacted shortly would put a stop to publishing false reports in the media.

“I have also noticed some people slinging mud at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Former President who was a pioneer of the war victory in 2009. He was referring to some remarks made by NPP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake who attacked former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for attending the alleged party.

Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa who commented on the issue later questioned how the MPs were allowed to use state property for the tour. “The family of an employee of Colombo Port have been told not to use any property belonging to the Port when they requested permission to visit the port. How did the port authorities allow the MPs to use state property when the families of port workers are not allowed to do it,” he questioned.