Rajapakse suspends Mervin Silva from SLFP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 August 2010, 10:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa finally Wednesday took a stern disciplinary action to control displeasure brewing in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) over the failure of taking tough stand against Mervin Silva for tying a Samurdhi official to a tree last week. Mervin Silva Tuesday evening was removed from the post of Deputy Minister and also suspended from the membership of the SLFP for taking law into his own hands, Presidential sources said.

The controversial Deputy Minister had earlier made a public proclamation that he would tie up any official to a tree, if anyone died of Dengue fever in his electorate and he carried out his warning on August 3 by ordering his supporters to tie a Samurdhi officer to a tree in the presence of media personnel specially invited for the event.