Opposition MP Harsha de Silva says attempts are being made to imprison him, over claims that he misled Parliament.
MP Harsha de Silva said that he refutes all allegations levelled against him concerning the report of the Parliament Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) on the online visa issuance for tourists which was presented to Parliament recently.
Addressing Parliament today, the CoPF Chairman said these were major accusations, which he categorically denies, and that these were attempts to imprison him by claiming that he had misled Parliament.
“Please provide me with what I presented. I will analyze them. This isn’t the first occasion on which I have been removed. I am not afraid to be imprisoned,” he added.
MP Harsha de Silva made the remarks in response to a statement made by State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe, who claimed that the CoPF Chairman had presented the report, despite several of the committee members having rejected it.
State Minister Shehan Semasinghe further said that the actions of the CoPF Chairman had violated the Parliamentary privileges of fellow CoPF members.
He also called on the Speaker to refer the matter to the Parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Privileges, as the CoPF report was misleading and contained inaccurate information.
Earlier in July, presenting the report to Parliament, MP Harsha de Silva revealed that investigations into the visa issue linked to VFS Global have identified that the prime contractor was not VFS Global as claimed but GBS Technology Services and IVS Global FZCO, but all the companies have signed an agreement to carry out visa issuance.
MP de Silva further said the CoPF report has found that VFS Global had been picked without calling for official bids and had resulted in the Department of Immigration and Emigration losing out on receiving competitive rates for visa issuance.
“If competitive bids were called for then the government could have obtained the services for a fee less than US$ 25,” he said.
Stating that local firm Mobitel had also in the past offered to provide some service for US$1, MP de Silva said however, no specifications had been issued on the criteria for the visa issuance service amidst which VFS Global had been selected.
At the time, he said the CoPF was of the view that if specification documents had been available then, not only Mobitel but other overseas firms would also have had an opportunity to engage in competitive bidding for the visa issuance service in Sri Lanka.
The Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) had launched a probe after the visa issuance system by VFS Global and its charges were brought to the limelight by a local passenger who had raised concerns over the process. (Newswire)
Attempts are being made to imprison me, stating that I have committed an act that warrants imprisonment. This is a major accusation. I categorically deny all allegations leveled against me, both collectively and separately. If attempts are being made to imprison me by saying that… pic.twitter.com/7sfRg31ZJm
— Manthri.LK_Watch (@ManthriLK_Watch) July 23, 2024
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