Namal Rajapaksa has questioned the scope of the Government’s ongoing commission of inquiry into coal imports, saying investigations should begin from 1989 rather than 2009.

Speaking on the matter, Rajapaksa said that if coal had been imported during that period, authorities should examine all transactions from 1989 onwards.

“It would be better if they investigated from 1989 onwards, provided coal was being imported at that time,” he said.

He argued that a broader probe would expose what he described as Government falsehoods and bring to light alleged fraud currently taking place.

Rajapaksa also challenged the authorities to substantiate any allegations levelled against previous administrations.

He further claimed that present coal procurement transactions were already under suspicion, alleging that the Auditor General’s report had clearly pointed to irregularities.

Raising concerns over coal quality, he alleged that even laboratory reports had been falsified in relation to recent consignments.

Rajapaksa also questioned whether the current political leadership would accept responsibility for any discrepancies uncovered.

“We are waiting to see whether the Minister, the President, and the Cabinet will take responsibility for this, or whether they will blame the officials who acted on their instructions and discard them,” he said.

He added that public attention was now focused on whether legal action would follow, or whether the Government would continue, in his words, to conceal its failures by placing pressure on the public and the Opposition.