Courtesy Island

UNP Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman, yesterday, said former health minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne, MP had conducted the controversial ‘white van’ press briefing in November, with the blessing of the UNP leaders.

Addressing the media at Sirikotha MP Rahuman said the government had, instead of probing the allegations of white van abductions, arrested those who made them. “They raised serious issues while exposing white van abductions. The government should have investigated those issues. Instead, the government took those who made the revelations and filed charges against them. That is political witch-hunting.”

Asked whether he would agree that Dr Senaratne’s press conference had adversely impacted on the UNP’s presidential campaign and whether he would not consider it an act of sabotage, the MP said that as far as he was aware, Dr Senaratne had conducted that press conference with the concurrence of the party leaders after discussing it with them.

Responding to a question whether MP Rahuman did not consider that Dr Senaratne had committed an offence by not informing the police of the two persons who claimed to have been involved in abductions, MP Rahuman said that no body still knew whether the suspects were criminals. “There is a case pending and at the end of the hearing we may know the truth. It is up to the court to decide whether those suspects are criminals or not.”

Asked to comment on the allegation that some UNP MPs harboured criminals and when the police moved to arrest them they mysterious fell sick, the MP said that he did not know any such thing.