Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra today (3 March) made several disclosures in Parliament, accusing the Opposition of being behind the ongoing fuel distribution crisis.

“We were puzzled as to why the Opposition was so concerned about the fuel distribution crisis and appeared sympathetic towards the fuel distributors. We have since discovered that several Opposition politicians are linked to a major distributor in the country,” said the Deputy Minister.

He went on to list names of several political figures allegedly associated with High Tech Carbon Pvt. Ltd., which owns fuel stations. These included former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the personal security officer of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, the sister of former Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, former Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, and supporters of SJB MPs Harshana Rajakaruna, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, and Gayantha Karunathileka.

Hemachandra also revealed that an audit had uncovered an overpayment of Rs. 4,349.93 to fuel distributors in August 2022. “There have been two court orders regarding this issue, yet the CPC has failed to recover the costs from the distributors. This is the real reason behind the fuel distribution crisis,” he said.

In addition, Hemachandra accused several trade union leaders from the CPC of illegally claiming overtime. He pointed to specific claims, including one union leader, Wijegunawardene, who allegedly claimed Rs. 8.5 million for 13,120 overtime hours, another leader named Nihal who claimed over Rs. 2 million for 2,192 overtime hours, and union leaders Paragune and Ananda Palitha who claimed Rs. 200,000 and Rs. 3.1 million, respectively, for overtime hours.

“These claims are illegal, and they are further complicating the situation within the CPC,” Hemachandra added.