Range Bandara offered USD 2.8 million: plays phone recording to back his claim

A recording of a telephone conversation between Parliamentarian S.B. Dissanayake and State Minister Palitha Range Bandara, urging the latter to defect before the parliament session and join the Maithri-Mahinda government was released to media.

This was disclosed during a special press conference held at the Temple Trees today (03).

State Minister Range Bandara revealed a number of phone recordings which clearly showed how the illegal government, that was formed by the Maithri-Mahinda faction, was trying to lure Parliamentarians with promises of Cabinet portfolios and large monetary incentives of as much as LKR 500 million.

Range Bandara played a recording of a conversation between him and a person by the name of Nalin who happened to be a coordinator of S.B. Dissanayake.

A number of telephone conversations between the State Minister and a person known as Dinusha, who claimed to be a representative of Yoshitha Rajapaksa (the son of Mahinda Rajapaksa), was also played during the press conference.
 
On another occasion, Dinusha, the representative of Yoshitha Rajapaksa, had informed Range Bandara that he could provide a staggering LKR 500 million (USD 2.8 million) through Professor Ranjith Banadara if he were to crossover.

Furthermore, S.B. Dissanayake had called State Minister Bandara numerous times asking him to join the new government.

It is evident that the new government is trying to get Parliamentarians to crossover by offering huge bribes of up to millions of US dollars.
Furthermore, the State Minister intimated that he owns a few more phone recordings of VVIPs that had called him.

The Minister added that even though his life was now in grave danger due to the disclosure of these recordings, he had an obligation to come forward and tell the truth the country.

He said that all the MPs that did crossover during the past few days as well as the ones who are planning to crossover in the future are all doing it for the love of money and ministerial portfolios and not for the love of the country.