Namal Rajapaksa was planning on becoming the country’s next leader if his father was in power for another 15 years, claims State Minister Dilan Perera. 

The State Minister of Highways was responding to a question from a reporter, at an SLFP media briefing in Colombo, regarding a statement made by the Hambantota District MP to a newspaper that only 96 MPs remained to safeguard the party while the rest jumped sides.

Perera said that in 2004 they had a government which wasn’t able to even appoint a Speaker of Parliament and that back then Mahinda Rajapaksa made a deal with the UNP and took 13 MPs. 

He added that some say Mahinda Rajapaksa made a deal with the Tamil Tigers and that this prevented votes from being cast in the North. 

However, that turned out to become a good deal as it led to Prabhakaran’s defeat, the State Minister said. 

He claimed that Namal Rajapaksa was thinking about becoming the country’s leader if his father, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was in power for another 15 years, however it is not the opinion of the SLFP.

Perera stated that those who are part of the joint opposition say that Mahinda Rajapaksa has no blood on his hands and that the Rajapaksa generation are far thinking individuals. 

However, Namal Rajapaksa is making such comments because he became an MP when his father was President, he said.