Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa has accused the government of weakening the country’s intelligence services by acting against officers who he said contributed to ending the civil war, in remarks delivered at a public meeting in Kekirawa on Sunday and reported by Newswire on Monday.
Rajapaksa alleged that intelligence officers who played a key role in defeating terrorism and safeguarding national security were being imprisoned, while individuals he accused of concealing information related to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks remained protected. Such actions, he said, could undermine national security mechanisms and create conditions in which extremist elements re-emerge.
Drawing parallels with the Yahapalana administration, the SLPP MP said the detention of intelligence officers could have “serious consequences for national security.” The comments come as the former Director of the State Intelligence Service, retired Major General Suresh Sallay, remains hospitalised under detention orders, having been arrested on February 25 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act over alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday investigations — allegations he denies. Sallay began a “fast unto death” in CID custody and was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital on Sunday evening.
The SLPP National Organiser also criticised the government’s handling of the agricultural sector, claiming that farmers were facing difficulties because of the lack of a clear fertiliser programme ahead of the upcoming Maha cultivation season. He alleged that fertiliser shortages had fuelled a black market that forced farmers to buy at higher prices, and accused the government of neglecting local agriculture while increasing imports — a move he said threatened food security.
Defending the COVID-19 response under his father, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Namal said the previous administration had prioritised saving lives despite severe economic challenges. He acknowledged mistakes in the implementation of the SLPP-era fertiliser policy and pledged that a future SLPP administration would strengthen the agricultural sector and safeguard farmers’ interests.
He claimed growing dissatisfaction among farmers, fishermen and workers was driving increased rural support for the SLPP. Monday’s intelligence-services attack reframes the Sallay detention as a national-security story rather than a purely judicial one, and pairs with the CID’s separate motion naming Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Dilith Jayaweera in alleged interference with the Easter probe — the two strands forming the opposition’s most coordinated push of the cycle on the Easter Sunday accountability docket.
