"Is buying MPs a democratic act?" - queries JNP Leader Weerawansha

When we expose the United National Party’s effort to “Buy MP” has been defined as a ‘mudslinging campaign’ and attempts are made desperately lessen the gravity of anti-democratic issue,” pointed out National Freedom Front (JNP) leader and parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansha, at a press briefing held on Sunday, at the JNP head office in Battaramulla .

The JNP leader Weerawansha who addressed the media with MP M. Muzammil said that they took a crucial challenge to show the country how the main opposition was playing with the democracy. ‘We are meeting a panel of lawyers this evening to discuss over the issue and will be taking legal action against the wrong doers”, JNP leader told the media.

MP Muzammil also said that he had recorded all the conversations and proceedings that took place during the transaction but, released to the media only some excerpts on the instruction of their lawyers.

Weerawansha further added that they were not in a mudslinging campaign as some have pointed out. “It is the UNP; the source of mudslinging campaign. They were doing this for a long time. All their political history is full of such undemocratic processes. We, the JNP was simply fulfilling its national obligation,” he added.

JNP MPs who played some audio tapes at the press briefing said that some UNP stalwarts were requesting JNP MP Muzammil to make a statement regarding the controversial HiCorp transactions.

“They asked me to say in a press briefing of General Sarath Fonseka that MP Weerawansha had failed to produce any acceptable document of those transactions to the party’s Political Bureau even after he was asked to produce these documents several times”.

“They arranged a press briefing at a place somewhere in Deans Place, Colombo. Anyway, the place had been changed to an office at Rajagiriya later. I went to the place and told the reporters that I was pretending as I wanted to reveal this conspiracy to the country. I directly came to our party office in Battaramulla. We will reveal other audio tapes too later on the directives of our lawyers”, the MP added.

- Asian Tribune -