Reports claimed yesterday that Ruling Party MP Nimal Lanza has decided to resign from his post as the State Minister of Rural Roads and other Infrastructure. Follow-ups claimed that he had removed the accessories from his ministry office.
Reports on the State Minister’s resignation have shaken the government to the core, mainly due to Lanza being a close friend to the President as well as the Prime Minister.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked Lanza to meet him to discuss the situation, but the Ruling Party MP has refused, reports add. So far, Lanza has not agreed to meet the President.
Sources claim that Lanza has decided to serve as an independent MP in Parliament.
Lanza was offered the post of Minister of Highways during the Cabinet reshuffle proposed to take place in January, but the Minister turned it down, stating that the post of a Cabinet Minister is useless in the event that Johnston Fernando the incumbent Highway Minister has already prepared all the future plans of the Ministry for this year and handed the contracts over to the parties he desired.
Lanza’s frustration comes upon his ministry not being entitled to adequate powers and funding. Compared to last year, the financial allocation for his state ministry has been cut by more than half.
The State Minister was also disappointed in the fact that the investigations into the Easter Sunday Massacre were being delayed.
