Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) is well known for his early morning birthday wishes to politicians on their respective birthdays, regardless of party affiliations.

However, it is learnt that MR had recently forgotten the birthday of one of his close aides, Neville Wanniarachchi, who has faithfully served him for decades. When the Government removed many security personnel from the former President’s contingent, Wanniarachchi had retired from service to remain in MR’s service.

While MR’s family members had wished Wanniarachchi on his birthday, MR had forgotten to wish him.

Finally, Wanniarachchi, while engaged in a conversation with the former President, had reminded him that it was his birthday. MR had immediately wished Wanniarachchi while apologising for forgetting to wish, saying that no one had reminded him. 

A former MP of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), upon hearing of this incident, had said that it seemed that Wanniarachchi was the one to remind MR of the birthdays of individuals he had to wish on a daily basis and that there was no one to remind MR of Wanniarachchi’s own birthday.