AFP, Colombo :
Former president Mahinda Rajapakse has been summoned to appear before Sri Lanka’s anti-graft body later this week over bribery allegations, parliament was told Monday.
Rajapakse loyalists said the 69-year-old had been ordered to present himself on Thursday before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
Although the commission told AFP that it would not comment on individual cases, supporters of the former president asked the Speaker of parliament — who is Rajapakse’s eldest brother — to intervene and stop the probe. “If you are questioning a former president about his executive actions, then it is not something that we can accept,” said Nimal Siripala de Silva, who leads Rajapakse’s People’s Alliance faction in parliament.
De Silva urged Speaker Chamal Rajapakse to pressure the anti-graft body to drop the investigation. Chamal Rajapaske replied that he could not give a ruling immediately.
Former president Mahinda Rajapakse has been summoned to appear before Sri Lanka’s anti-graft body later this week over bribery allegations, parliament was told Monday.
Rajapakse loyalists said the 69-year-old had been ordered to present himself on Thursday before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
Although the commission told AFP that it would not comment on individual cases, supporters of the former president asked the Speaker of parliament — who is Rajapakse’s eldest brother — to intervene and stop the probe. “If you are questioning a former president about his executive actions, then it is not something that we can accept,” said Nimal Siripala de Silva, who leads Rajapakse’s People’s Alliance faction in parliament.
De Silva urged Speaker Chamal Rajapakse to pressure the anti-graft body to drop the investigation. Chamal Rajapaske replied that he could not give a ruling immediately.
