Gotabaya fires back at Mangala over accusations

Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa today charged that Mangala Samaraweera is the “weakest” Foreign Minister in the history of Sri Lanka because he had done absolutely nothing.

Responding to Samaraweera’s recent allegations that his son had lived in a house in US funded by the former government, Rajapaksa said that the minister is attempting to fulfill his “cheap” political aspirations.  

He said it is not suitable for a minister of his level to make such baseless comments especially regarding children. 

“If I have stolen billions of dollars as they claim, why would I rent a house? I would have bought a house for money and given,” he said, speaking to reporters outside the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.

“Is this what the foreign minister comes and talks about during the budget (debate)? This is what they call cheap politics.”
 
“I think that he (Smaraweera) is the weakest foreign minister in the history of Sri Lanka because he hasn’t done anything,” he said. 

“He did make an attempt to haul our war heroes to the gallows. But now that too will not work because Trump has been elected,” the former Defence Secretary added. 

Even the President has said that he will write directly to Trump and resolve this matter, he said. “That goes to show the weakness of the Minister.”

Rajapaksa said that Samaraweera is especially against him because the LTTE was defeated in the war and that is the reason he is making such false statements.

But after all that in the end he will come running to me just like he did when he wanted to join the Rajapaksa government, he claimed.