Political henchmen exploit BIA VIP Lounge: UNP

26 May 2013 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The VIP lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) was exploited for the comfort of politically connected persons travelling abroad, United National Party (UNP) MP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam charged in Parliament last week.

MP Kariyawasam said though the VIP lounge was meant to ensure a smooth passage at the airport for eminent personalities, that facility was abused at the behest of ruling party politicians.

“I recently used the VIP lounge when travelling abroad and noticed how political henchmen were provided facilities there. They were even served tea at the lounge. I had previously raised this 1question regarding persons eligible to use the VIP lounge but did not receive a proper response,” he said.

He said there were also instances where politically connected persons were sent abroad when they faced criminal charges. The UNP MP raised the issue as a supplementary matter during question time.

Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation Geethanjana Gunawardane who did not respond to this question, simply evaded it saying it was not relevant to the main question. (Kelum Bandara)

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Political henchmen exploit BIA VIP Lounge: UNP

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