Referring to the statement made by opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa over his concerns regarding the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday challenged the opposition leader to show whether the content of the MCC was detrimental to the country.
The Finance Minister said the opposition leader was making an effort to level allegations against the government that the signing of the MCC with US was harmful to the country but it was a sheer illusion
“There is no mention about any harm that could be caused to the country in effect of the MCC,” he said.
“The opposition leader earlier launched false propaganda during an election time in the past, creating an America bogey saying that there was an arrangement to sell Sigiriya, Sinharaja forest and Galle Fort to America but there was no truth in it,” he added.
Minister Samaraweera said that he felt sorry for Mr Rajapaksa because they were aware of the fact that their camp was on the verge of a massive defeat and added having known this fact, he was attempting to deceive the people by making such false statements.
Opposition leader making a statement said the contents of this proposed agreement are not known even to parliamentarians let alone the general public. “Before this agreement is signed, its text should be made public, presented to parliament and debated,” he said.
Mr. Rajapaksa said the information available indicated that this agreement has to do with road development and land reform but the government has not explained what exactly this entails and what its impact will be on the country.
