The duel between JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Minister of Justice Wijedasa Rajapakshe over the release of the passport of Avant Garde head ex-serviceman Nissanka Senadhipathy intensified yesterday with Dissanayake reaffirming his stance. Meanwhile, Rajapakshe called for an open debate on the matter.

On January 24, Dissanayake said that Senadhipathy’s passport was released with the interference of Rajapakshe and former Minister of Defense of the 2001-04 Ranil Wickremesinghe government Tilak Marapana.

However, Rajapaksa said that Dissanayake was misleading the people and should apologize in public. “The JVP Leader sounded as if we gave an order to the Magistrate to release the passport. We don’t interfere with the decisions of the judiciary and therefore, the JVP Leader’s statement amounts to contempt of court. It shows his lack of understanding of the affairs of the country’s judiciary and politics,” Rajapakshe said in a video that was posted on his official Facebook page on Thursday (26).

In response, Dissanayake called a press briefing yesterday and stuck to his version of the story. He said that the interference by Rajapakshe and Marapana was confirmed by a high ranking official in the Attorney General’s Department at a meeting in his presence, where the Prime Minister was also present.

Rajapakshe, speaking to local media, expressed his regret over the fact that a “so-called leader of a political party” spoke on the matter with no understanding. He challenged the JVP leader for an open debate on the matter on any TV channel in Sri Lanka. However Dissanayake said that his version of the story is clear and he does not want to take much notice of Rajapakshe’s claims.