News Today: SLPP MP Claims Govt Using Easter Attacks Politically

In a fiery statement, SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa has accused the current Government of using the tragic 2019 Easter Sunday bombings as a political weapon in the lead-up to the Local Government elections.

Delivering a harsh critique, Rajapaksa claimed that the Government was deliberately provoking emotional responses and manipulating public sentiments tied to the Easter Attacks, an event that left the nation in mourning.

According to Rajapaksa, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday bombings, chaired by Justice Janak de Silva, had already completed its investigation. The final report was officially submitted to Parliament on 23 February 2021 and tabled on 25 February 2021. He stressed that the report remains publicly accessible on the Parliament website, and that the Attorney General is fully informed of its contents.

“Regrettably, the current Government appears to be exploiting the national tragedy of the Easter Attacks as a political instrument,” he stated.

The SLPP MP argued that such use of a national catastrophe for political mileage was a “disheartening descent into cheap and manipulative political opportunism.” He emphasized the importance of conducting a legitimate criminal investigation—one that is objective, impartial, and free of political interference.

“To first identify a target and then seek evidence is not an investigation—it’s persecution,” he said.

He further condemned the Government’s stance as performative and morally disingenuous:

“I strongly urge this Government—replete with performative displays of moral superiority—to cease using this sorrowful national tragedy as a tool for political gain.”

Rajapaksa concluded by calling the act “unbecoming, cynical, and shameful,” asserting that it disrespects the memory of the victims.