Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Chathuranga Abeysinghe, has sent a Letter of Demand to Waruna Rajapaksha over alleged defamatory statements on YouTube regarding a distillery licence.

Issuing a statement, the Deputy Minister’s Office said a series of defamatory and false allegations against Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe were recently circulated on a YouTube channel by an individual named Waruna Rajapaksha.

Accordingly, a Letter of Demand has been issued to Waruna Rajapaksha, seeking compensation for the damage caused.

The issue is linked to recent allegations that Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe and MP Najith Indika had met a businessman at the Kingsbury Hotel to discuss a distillery licence under questionable circumstances.

The matter was also raised in Parliament last week by opposition MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam.

“As public officials, we often meet investors and individuals interested in potential investments on a daily basis. The discussion referred to by MP Rasamanickam never took place, and I have never received such a letter. I urge members not to use Parliament to popularise material that appears on YouTube,” Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe said, responding to the MP.

Statement : Statement from Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa has issued a legal notice demanding Rs. 1 billion in compensation from Deputy Minister of Public Security, Sunil Watagala, citing defamation.

The notice has reportedly been sent via registered post through Attorney-at-Law Sankha Karunaratne.

In the notice, Namal Rajapaksa claims that a recent statement made by Deputy Minister Watagala at a media briefing in Homagama caused him reputational harm.

He alleges that the statement implied he was connected to the country’s drug supply network, thereby defaming him.

Rajapaksa further states that his photograph was displayed during the briefing, intensifying the damage to his reputation. 

He demands Rs. 1 billion in compensation and warns that legal action will be taken if the payment is not made. (Newswire)

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Former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Janaka Tissa Kuttiarachchi has unconditionally apologized in court for making a defamatory statement regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. 

Former MP Tissa Kuttiarachchi today informed the Colombo District Court that he unconditionally regrets the statement he made regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

This announcement was made through his lawyers during a hearing of the case filed by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who sought compensation of Rs. 10 billion for defamation. 

The case was heard today at the Colombo District Court, where Tissa Kuttiarachchi appeared in person. Subsequently, both parties reached a mutual settlement in the case.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is seeking Rs. 10 billion in compensation for alleged defamatory remarks made against him. 

The case stems from a public meeting held by the SLPP on August 19, 2023, in Central Colombo, where Tissa Kuttiarachchi reportedly claimed that President Dissanayake had “invested five billion in Malta.”

President Dissanayake argues that this statement was intended to portray him as corrupt and acting with dishonest intentions, suggesting he receives large sums of money from abroad for ulterior motives. (Newswire)

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