Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has challenged Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala’s claim that a certificate from a Police Committee Chairman is not required to obtain a Police Clearance Certificate.
Yesterday, the Minister dismissed a newspaper report that said a Police Committee Chairman’s certificate was needed alongside a Grama Niladhari certificate. He said that no such directive had been issued by the Ministry and called the report fake news.
Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa also condemned the newspaper report in Parliament today, questioning its credibility and noting the absence of a properly cited source. “The reporter could have verified the claim with the minister, deputy minister or other government officials, this is a deliberate and fake report,” he said.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa however countered that two individuals in Hakmana and Kamburupitiya had been asked by local police to obtain such certificates, raising concerns over a possible shift towards what he said was a “constitutional dictatorship or police state.”
In response, Minister Wijepala reiterated that no circular mandates such a requirement. He explained that the current government had replaced the former Community Police Committees with Public Security Committees, where the Grama Niladhari serves as the secretary, stressing that the committees therefore remain non-political.
SJB MP Mujibur Rahman said that similar complaints about a requirement for a Police Committee certificate had been reported from Colombo as well. Public Security Minister Wijepala said the matters raised by the Opposition Leader will be investigated. (Newswire)