Haphazard power cuts are a result of conspiracy: Johnston

One feels that haphazard power cuts too are a result of a conspiracy, Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said over the weekend.

Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said sporadic power-cuts were nothing but the results of another conspiracy by those hell-bent on sabotaging the implementation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Vistas of Prosperity programme.

“Objective of these saboteurs is nothing but prevention of President Rajapaksa’s plan to develop this country. There is a clear conspiracy behind this,” Minister Fernando said addressing a meeting held at Millagoda commencing the 100,000 Projects Rural Development Programme for the Kurunegala District.

“When I said that there was a conspiracy behind the gas leak explosions, I was laughed at by SJB and JVP facebook activists. After I said that there had been a conspiracy and demanded that it should be probed thoroughly, gas explosions stopped. Now gas leak explosions are a thing of the past because after my calling for investigations, the conspirators got cold feet and suspended their operations. In the same way, I feel that these haphazard power cuts too are a result of a conspiracy to derail our work and I demand that this be investigated,” the minister added.

Minister Fernando said that the government was not afraid of saboteurs but those who put the lives of people in difficulty must be ready to pay for their actions when the results of investigations come. “There was the incident of a grenade found in the All Saints Church, Borella. Our investigators conducted a serious probe and in the times to come the truth will be revealed. Those who placed the bomb at the church were the very same people who placed a bomb at Bellanwila temple. Placing a bomb at a private hospital in Colombo too was their work. The objective of placing bombs at places of worship and hospitals was to show the world that there was no security in the country.”

Minister Fernando said that it was so sad to note of the silence of those who speak of national security when a bomb was found and dismantled when the UN and foreign powers advocate setting free Hejazz Hizbullah, who is behind bars in connection with Easter Sunday terror attacks.

“Those who clamour for national security and try to find fault with the government in the same time demand that Hizbullah be released. People can understand their double-standard policy. We have only a single and unwavering policy with regard to national security. We believe that our investigators are so professional that they will bring the real culprits to book. They can take their time to identify those who really are responsible for the crimes. We do not need to hurry helping the real murders and conspirators to flee. We do not abuse the police and law to take political revenge. For example, you may recall how many public servants came on TV to criticize the government and the President in recent times. Can you imagine what would have happened to them if they did so during the times when our opposition leader’s father Ranasinghe Premadasa was the president of the country,” Minister Fernando queried. (Yohan Perera)