SJB Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake who lost his parliamentary seat has posted a comment on his Facebook Page, stating that it took nearly three months to decide whether his parliamentary seat was valid or not, but took only a few hours to appoint a new MP to fill his vacant seat.
Ramanayake in his concluding remarks has stated, “Get ready to face Ditta Dhamma Vedaniya Karma at the last moment.”
Former State Minister Ajith Mannapperuma was sworn in as a Member of Parliament before the Speaker on Friday (April 9) to fill Ranjan Ramanayake’s seat that had been rendered vacant. The Election Commission announced in a Gazette Extraordinary notification on Thursday (April 8) that Ajith Mannapperuma will replace Ranjan Ramanayake in Parliament as an MP for Gampaha district. The Gazette notification confirmed that this move was made to fill the vacancy created by the loss of Ranjan Ramanayake’s parliamentary seat.
Asked as to how Ramanayake who is in prison posted that Facebook comment, Prisons media spokesman, Commissioner of Prisons, Administration and Rehabilitation Chandana Ekanayake said anybody who has the password can access the account.
Ekanayake said there is no facility whatsoever for a prisoner to use mobile phones inside the prison. Mobile phone jammers have been installed inside the prison as such prisoners cannot have any communication with outsiders. However, any outsider can maintain the Facebook of an inmate. Being an actor-turned politician and popular public figure, perhaps Ramanayake may also have a large number of fans to monitor his Facebook account.
Ramanayake lost his Parliament seat after being sentenced to a prison term over charges of contempt of court. The Supreme Court sentenced the SJB MP to four years rigorous imprisonment. Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal recently rejected a petition filed by Ramanayake seeking an order to prevent him from losing his Parliament seat.