Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe is responding to the opposition’s accusation that the government was silent about a cyclone despite issuing warnings for two weeks since November 12. He says that if they knew that a cyclone warning had been issued since November 12, they should be sued for not informing the government about it.
He told the media that the government had not received any advance warning of a cyclone issued on November 12 by the Meteorology Department or the Irrigation Department, as claimed by the opposition.
If the opposition was aware of such a warning, the opposition has the same responsibility as the government to inform the government and the people, and they are also elected representatives of the people.
“The opposition parties, especially the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, were in Parliament for 14 days from November 12 to November 26 for the budget debate. None of them mentioned the cyclone in Parliament. They kept it a secret until the disaster struck. Just as the government has the responsibility to prevent such a disaster, the opposition also has a responsibility,” he said.
Accordingly, legal action should be taken against the opposition and not against the government, and they have committed a graver crime by not disclosing the warning even when they were aware of it, Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe said.