Highly placed government sources confirmed that the government had sent an official invitation to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to participate in the Independence Day state ceremony.
The invitation had been sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. "Rajapaksa was sent an invitation as he was the former President of Sri Lanka as well as the former Defence Minister of the country," a spokesman of the government said.
He also added that there was no discrimination on the part of the government when it came to invitations.
However, former President Rajapaksa did not take part in the Independence Day ceremony. The only member of the Rajapaksa family who took part in the Independence Day state ceremony was Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa. Internal Affairs Ministry sources told Asian Mirror that the former President had not even contacted the organizers to inform that he would not participate in the event.
Meanwhile, several MPs of the UPFA such Dinesh Gunawardena, Bandula Gunawardena, Duminda Silva and Nirupama Rajapaksa were present at the event.
