Gammanpila files bribery complaint against President, NPP MPs

Former Minister Udaya Gammanpila and the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya yesterday lodged a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, calling for legal action against the President and all National People’s Power (NPP) parliamentarians over alleged misuse of public funds.

The former minister alleged that the President and government MPs are diverting their monthly salaries to party funds for political activities, from which members then receive stipends from the funds.

Speaking to the media after lodging the complaint, Gammanpila said MPs cannot spend their allowances at their discretion.

He argued that while MPs receive about Rs. 340,000 for a month, inclusive of various allowances, only a portion can be lawfully spent at their discretion. The remainder, he said, is allocated for specific purposes such as office maintenance, fuel, transport, and communications, and therefore diverting those funds to a political party amounts to misappropriation.

“The fact that 159 government MPs receive over Rs. 30 million collectively each month and credit it to the party fund for political purposes constitutes a misuse of public funds,” he stated.

“This amounts to the misappropriation of more than Rs. 30 million per month by all 159 MPs, plus the President,” he added, urging the Bribery Commission to investigate the matter.