Sacked Sri Lankan deputy minister also suspended from the party organizer post

Mervyn Silva, the sacked Deputy Minister of Highways and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarian from Kelaniya electorate has also been temporarily suspended from his party organizer post for Kelaniya along with his party membership.


Minister Maithripala Sirisena, General Secretary of SLFP, the main constituent party of the ruling alliance said the organizer post is automatically suspended with the suspension of party membership to facilitate the disciplinary inquiry against the sacked deputy minister.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa removed the rogue minister yesterday for his repeated failure to discipline himself from his unruly behavior which has become an embarrassment to the government.
Mervyn Silva last week tied a Samurdhi officer in Kelaniya to a tree and humiliated the officer for allegedly failing to attend a dengue prevention program. The move sparked island wide protest from Samurdhi officers and brought condemnation from fellow ministers as well as from opposition.
General Secretary of All Island Samurdhi ' Development and Agricultural Research Production Assistants Society Jagath Kumara praised the President for his brave act of removing Silva from his Deputy Minster post and suspending his party membership.
Addressing a press conference today the Samurdhi official said by taking action against the deputy minister, the President has proved that even someone very close to him will be punished accordingly if he acts in such an irresponsible manner.
The Samurdhi official said they protested only against the Minister and not against the government. He assured the continued support of the Samurdhi officers in the government's efforts in fighting dengue.