Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said that he will resign if media could prove that he has resettled people in Wilpattu Sanctuary.

He made this pledge at a media briefing in Colombo this afternoon and extended an open invitation to media to travel with him.

The minister also said that the people are being settled in their original villages.

Bathiudeen also refuted allegations that foreigners have been resettled in the north after the war. He said that there was no truth in the claim that Pakistanis are being settled.

The controversy began a few days ago when media reports indicated that there was large scale forest clearing and resettlement in Wilpattu.

A similar controversy arose in April 2014 which saw a major showdown between Bodu Bala Sena and Rishad Bathiudeen.