Prominent businessman Thilak Weerasinghe has said that his daughter, Limini Rajapaksa, has no intention of entering politics, despite her husband, SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa, currently being held in remand custody.
Speaking during a special interview with journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama, Weerasinghe also responded to several serious allegations levelled against his family and businesses.
He categorically denied reports that Limini Rajapaksa would attend the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna rally scheduled to be held in Anuradhapura on 12 September.
Weerasinghe said it would be politically unwise for a wife to appear on a political stage while her husband was facing a difficult situation.
He said her primary responsibility under the present circumstances was to support her husband, care for their two children and safeguard the family.
According to Weerasinghe, Limini had no intention of entering politics or attempting to surpass her husband by pursuing the presidency. He added that, as her father, he would never support such a decision.
Weerasinghe also rejected allegations that Namal Rajapaksa had laundered money through his father-in-law’s businesses.
He described the claim that businessman Nimal Perera had delivered USD 800,000 in a suitcase as an impractical and fabricated story.
Weerasinghe said he had known Namal Rajapaksa long before he became his son-in-law, describing him as a highly disciplined person who neither consumed meat nor alcohol and did not visit nightclubs.
He maintained that Rajapaksa had never invested any money in his businesses and that no money laundering had taken place through them.
Weerasinghe also responded to allegations that his companies had secured contracts worth millions of rupees from the Football Federation of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Cricket without tenders during Rajapaksa’s tenure as Sports Minister.
He said his company had obtained the contract to provide accommodation and transport services to the Football Federation through the Taj Hotel and not through political influence.
He further claimed that the Football Federation still owed his company millions of rupees for those services, adding that the Taj Hotel had even considered taking legal action against him over the outstanding payments.
Weerasinghe said his company had also lawfully secured contracts to supply vehicles to Sri Lanka Cricket because it owned a large vehicle fleet. He maintained that the company had provided such services even before Namal Rajapaksa became Sports Minister.
He also rejected allegations that he had made large profits by supplying vehicles for the quarantine programme during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During the national emergency caused by the pandemic, I provided my vehicles at the request of the airport authorities. I even paid for their fuel with my own money. However, the Government has not paid me a single cent for those services to this day. What I did was fulfil a national duty, not make a profit,” he said.
Weerasinghe described allegations linking him to an alleged fraud at the National Gem and Jewellery Authority as the most unfair claim circulated against him on social media.
He clarified that the individual named “Thilak Weerasinghe”, who had allegedly committed financial fraud while serving as Chairman of the Authority, was an entirely different person.
Weerasinghe said it was deeply regrettable that social media posts relating to that allegation had misused his photograph, causing reputational harm to both him and his daughter.
Describing himself as someone who had long held leftist political views, Weerasinghe stressed that he had no political dealings with the Rajapaksa family.
He noted that his daughter had married Namal Rajapaksa after 2015, when the Rajapaksas were out of power, and not while they held the presidency or premiership.
Weerasinghe added that although the couple lived in the same house as him, politics was never discussed at home. He also maintained that the Rajapaksa family had neither interfered in his businesses nor provided them with any undue advantage.
He said he was prepared to face any investigation into the financial allegations being circulated against him on social media.
