No basis to arrest Gotabhaya Rajapaksa - Minister Amunugama

There is no basis to arrest former Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, as he is not responsible for financial misappropriation of state funds, said Minister of Special Assignments Dr Sarath Amunugama said.

“There is a controversy about Gotabhaya Rajapaksa being arrested. But I learnt that he had not gained any personal benefit by approving the estimation for the construction of the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum and Memorial. 
It is normal for Government contracts to utilize more sums than the amount which was initially estimated,” the Minister said.

The Minister pointed out that if an issue had arisen due to the administrative decisions Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had taken, the government can take steps to recover the funds by following rules pertaining to administration.

“There is necessarily no reason to arrest him. He, by any means, has not used the money for his personal gain and has not debited it to his own bank account. On the other hand there are people who are in power and who were in power who misuse state funds for their personal gain. My opinion is that the government should look into these issues without making inquires about a fault which had arisen with regard to an administrative decision,” he added.