Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed the Gampaha district MP Mervyn Silva as the Deputy Minister of Mass Media and Information to the surprise of media circles in the island.
Mervyn Silva swore in as the deputy of the Ministry that is held personally by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Mervyn Silva is well-known for threatening journalists and the media institutes.
In 2008 Silva created controversy when he, with his supporters stormed into the news room and attacked the news director of the state-owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation. The attack backlashed when the employees manhandled him and held him as a hostage in the Rupavahini premises.
The then Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena condemned Silva's actions.
He is a long standing foe of the Maharaja Broadcasting Corporation TV and radio channels. Some of his supporters were arrested on suspicion of attacking the MTV media office in Colombo.
Mervyn Silva held the portfolio of non-cabinet Minister of Labor in the last parliament.
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