President Maithripala Sirisena appointed his son-in-law Thilina Suranjith as a Public Relations Officer of the Defense Ministry, highly placed political sources said.
Suranjith is the husband of Chathurika Sirisena, the elder daughter of President Sirisena. He was an active member of the Presidential Election campaign team of Maithripala Sirisena.
These appointments are contrary to a key point in his campaign against Mahinda Rajapaksa government since Sirisena continuously accused Rajapaksa of 'family rule.'
President Sirisena, has meanwhile clipped the wings of State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena, in an apparent move to mollify the disgruntled SLFP.
As a result, Wijewardena has been left with four marginal institutions, the Rana Viru Seva Authority, the Defence Services College, Defence Services Command and Staff College and the National Cadet Corp. Sources said that his office would also be move out of the Defence Ministry premises at Colombo Fort.
