President, Sagala will have to be held responsible if I am killed: Roshan

• Says President accused me of insulting the judiciary

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana   

 Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe, before he was sacked from his Cabinet post, said the Executive would have to be responsible for any untoward incident in his life.  Hours after he made such remarks, he was ousted from office. 

  “I might be killed today, maybe tomorrow and I would say that the executive will have to accept responsibility in such an eventuality,” the Minister said.   

The Minister also pointed his finger at Presidential advisor Sagala Ratnayake. Who is this Sagala Ratnayake? A motorcade is provided to Sagala to ensure his security. However, no security is provided for me being a Cabinet Minister,” he said.   

The Minister said MP Namal Rajapaksa has warned that his life is in danger. “MP Namal told me to be careful, as President Wickremesinghe is like a snake and will seek revenge from me soon.   

However, MP Rajapaksa denied the claim and said members of Parliament should not be allowed to use parliamentary privileges and utter things. “Standing orders should be changed to prevent MPs from uttering things,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.   

In response, the Minister said the message was sent to him by MP Rajapaksa through a third party.   
“President Ranil Wickremesinghe accused me of insulting the judiciary. I only mentioned about one judicial officer. The President accused me of insulting the judiciary and then sent a team to raid all my companies. I have been accused of assembling vehicles. One can carry out investigations if they want, and I am prepared to hand over the keys of my factories. My father did politics with the late Minister Gamini Dissanayake. He had to sell our properties to spend on his campaigns. I had to go to Japan to find employment.