Sarvajana Balaya leader, MP Dilith Jayaweera, told the party’s May Day rally at Henry Pedris Ground that the National People’s Power had become “one of the most corrupt governments within a short period of time” and explicitly linked the death of an interdicted Finance Ministry official to the USD 2.5 million Treasury cyber heist.
“A Treasury official has died amid allegations that hackers stole millions of dollars, and the official who disclosed information regarding the incident died under suspicious circumstances,” Jayaweera said, framing Ranga Rajapaksa’s death in whistleblower terms. The remarks are the first time a senior opposition figure has publicly connected the death to the heist via a whistleblower narrative — qualitatively distinct from earlier opposition demands centred on a presidential commission or Speaker’s referral.
Jayaweera said this year’s May Day was being commemorated in a “tragic atmosphere” and accused the administration of using state power against the working class more aggressively than any previous government. “From the day this government came to power until this recent death, it has consistently targeted working people. No other government has used state power against the working class in this manner,” he told the rally.
He alleged that Ceylon Electricity Board employees had been warned against engaging in trade union action and accused the government of dismantling the principles of Sri Lanka’s traditional leftist movement. “The leftist movement has historically represented the ordinary people of this country. Those involved in trade union struggles did not act for personal gain. However, this government has destroyed those ideals,” he said.
Jayaweera also dismissed what he called President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s “theatrical politics” as having “no future,” and said Sarvajana Balaya aimed to unite people regardless of race, religion or caste.
Police are still investigating Rajapaksa’s death as suspicious, with a four-Judicial Medical Consultant panel named for the post-mortem and the CID examining whether the incident was homicide, suicide or accidental.
Source: Ada Derana.
