Widlife protection state minister makes protecting the Rajapaksas his mission

State Minister of Wildlife Protection Wimalaweera Dissanayake is decidedly unimpressed by those who criticise the Rajapaksa family.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Dissanayake mounted a passionate defence of the Rajapaksas, who he said were being unfairly blamed for all manner of ills affecting the country.

“If it weren’t for

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, you’d all be dead,” he told Opposition lawmakers who criticised the government’s COVID strategy.

Mr Dissanayake also lashed out at Tamil Opposition MPs who are critical of the Rajapaksas. “It was the Rajapaksas who put pens into the hands of Tamil children in the north and east who were carrying guns. It was the Rajapaksas who replaced cyanide capsules around the necks of students with talismans. It was the Rajapaksas who carpeted the roads up to Kankesanthurai, repaired the rail tracks and restarted train journeys to the north,” he told the House.

The state minister concluded by saying that lightning should strike the mouths of those who criticise the Rajapaksas (hena hathama gahanna ona).