MP Dilith Jayaweera has expressed skepticism regarding the recent convictions of former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, questioning whether these legal actions yield tangible benefits for the public.
“Now, on the whole, it is good to punish, but the people should get something from catching these thieves,” Jayaweera remarked, highlighting the public’s expectation that recovering stolen wealth would lead to a more prosperous nation.
He pointed out that the convicted individuals had distributed carrom and draughts boards to the public, rather than retaining them for personal gain. “Because these two have gone in and taken the carrom boards and distributed them to the people, not taken them home,” he noted.
Jayaweera emphasized that merely imprisoning corrupt officials without recovering misappropriated funds fails to fulfill the public’s desire for justice and restitution. “The narrative of catching thieves that they told is not fulfilled in that way here,” he added.
Former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Trade Minister Nalin Fernando were recently sentenced to 20 and 25 years of rigorous imprisonment, respectively, for misusing Rs. 53.1 million in public funds to import and distribute 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 draughts boards during the 2015 presidential election campaign. (NewsWire)