Amid allegations of increased criminal activities by thugs backed by politicians, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided to use army personnel to keep a tab on such activities.“Personal feuds have led to political rivalries, which in turn end up jeopardising law and order. The tragic events at Mulleriyawa have underlined the need to get tough with certain VIPs. They will be given new guidelines on the number of security personnel and vehicles that will comprise their security detail and the number of weapons to be carried,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.
“The army will be deployed to check whether these guidelines are being followed and those who fail to do so will be duly dealt with irrespective of their status.” He said since independence criminals had made it a habit to back politicians belonging to the party in office and this had happened even at the time the United National Party (UNP) was in office. “Gullible politicians fell for them. We have busted the Maligawatte underworld which was there for decades and we will do the same with Kolonnawa as well,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.
He said people elected politicians to office and as such the politicians had a responsibility to help maintain law and order. Mr. Rajapaksa said the tendency to re-elect politicians who patronised criminals hampered efforts to maintain law and order.
DM