Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara says that Rs. 666,000 has been spent from the President’s Fund for the Pirith sermon held on the occasion of Namal Rajapaksa’s birthday on April 9, 2014 at the Carlton House in Tangalle and the Avurudu festival at the Carlton Pre-School.
He made this statement in Parliament today (15) while giving details of how the President’s Fund had previously been misused for personal and political purposes.
The Minister said that when the current government increased capital expenditure for development and recurrent works, although the opposition criticized it, previous presidents increased the money with the aim of “spending time on country trips and living a private life”.
Giving several examples, he emphasized that in 2013, Namal Rajapaksa had spent Rs. 65,000 from the President’s Fund to purchase offerings for a monk and in 2014, he had purchased eight Atapirikaras worth Rs. 356,000 from public funds to offer to monks.
“In short, these people have made merit with public funds. They are trying to attain Nirvana by spending public funds and making merit with it. This is what happened in the past,” he said.