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D.V. Chanaka denies seeking Power and Energy State Ministry

14 Sep 2022

BY Dinitha Rathnayake   Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP D.V. Chanaka, who assumed duties as the State Minister of Power and Energy on 9 September, rejected allegations of having requested the said portfolio after being sworn in as the State Minister of Conservation of Wildlife and Forest Reserves a day earlier, on 8 September. Speaking to The Morning, Chanaka said that he had informed the relevant authorities including President Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding his stance on the portfolio he was given just minutes after he was sworn in. “Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) member Mahinda Amarawera was appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation and he also represents the Hambantota District. I have no personal issues with him, but this actually disrupts both of our electoral campaigns due to party disparity, so I don’t want to face such issues. This is the reason why I rejected the State Ministry of Conservation of Wildlife, and Forest Reserves, but I never requested any other Ministry as such.” According to Chanaka, the President had informed him about the vacancies in two State Ministries, namely, those concerning Cultural Affairs and Power and Energy. “Since Cabinet Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera requested two State Ministers under his Ministry, I was offered this post by the President’s office,” he said  SLPP MP Indika Anuruddha Herath, who took oaths as the other Power and Energy State Minister, also assumed duties in the said office.  Chanaka assumed duties at the Power and Energy Ministry, while Anuruddha assumed duties at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) premises.


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