COLOMBO – Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) parliamentarian Jayantha Ketagoda resigned on Tuesday,July 6, from his national list MP post to pave the way for SLPP architect Basil Rajapaksa to enter the legislature .
“I happily handed over my resignation letter to to the parliament general secretary today, for Minister Basil Rajapaksa who is to enter parliament, for the sake of the party and the country,” Ketagoda told the privately owned NewsFirst network Tuesday,July,06).
The actor-turned-politician has also informed the Election Commission of his decision, a parliament official confirmed to EconomyNext.
Rajapaksa’s widely anticipated entry to parliament has been making headlines in Sri Lanka over the recent weeks, with backbencher MPs in the government going on record that he would’ve prevented the recent fuel price hike, among other issues.
Meanwhile, the Sinhala-language daily the Lankadeepa reported that whoever resigns from the SLPP national list will be appointed Sri Lanka’s high commissioner to Australia.
Basil Rohana Rajapaksa,70, was a member of the Sri Lankan parliament from 2007 to 2015.During the period of 2005–2010 he served as a presidential senior advisor to then President Mahinda Rajapaksa and in 2007 he was appointed as a member of parliament from the national list.He had served as cabinet minister in charge of economic affairs.He is married to Pushpa and has three children,namely Thejani, Bimalka and Asanka. He is an old boy of Isipathana and Ananda college,Colombo.
